CAIRO: The median overnight interbank rate on the pound fell to 8.2 percent on Sunday from 8.579 percent on Thursday in the absence of central bank auctions, traders said. Rates also fell because the two-week period for calculating bank reserves ends on Monday, they added. Rates usually fall in the last few days of the period because most bankers try to square their books in advance and then reduce trading. There are no auctions so the market s very liquid, and we are approaching the end of the period, one banker said. Three out of eight banks contacted by Reuters reported deals on overnight money, at rates between 8.15 and 8.25 percent, compared with 8.75 percent on Thursday. As on Thursday, none of the banks said they had made one-week deals. At 11:00 GMT, the Egyptian pound was steady at LE 5.7380 to the dollar, compared with Thursday s general weighted average of LE 5.7381. Reuters
