“Updates on Egyptian Pound: Stability in Official Market, Decline in Black Market Rates”

Egyptian Pound

A state of calm and stability dominated the official exchange market in Egypt, as no new increases in dollar exchange rates were recorded during the last period in banks and the official market.

but; On the other hand, the increase in the supply of dollars in the parallel market caused confusion, and a large number of merchants resorted to stopping their activities more than once during the last period. Where the exchange rates of the dollar on the black market witnessed a decline from the level of 42 pounds in transactions at the beginning of last week, to about 38 pounds at the present time.

This comes despite the talk of some sources about the return of the accumulation of goods in the Egyptian ports, albeit to a less severe degree than the crisis that faced the country in the third quarter of last year and worsened in December, and prompted the Egyptian government to move strongly to release goods worth more than 15 billion dollars during The period from December to mid-February.

In the official market, and in the two largest banks in terms of assets and transactions, the dollar exchange rate stabilized at the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, at 30.75 pounds for purchase, and 30.85 pounds for sale.

In private banks, the exchange rate of the dollar at the Commercial International Bank of Egypt stabilized at 30.85 pounds for purchase, and 30.95 pounds for sale. At the Central Bank of Egypt, the average price of the dollar against the Egyptian pound recorded about 30.83 pounds for purchase, and 30.93 pounds for sale.

In terms of major currencies, the single European currency recorded remarkable stability, and the exchange rate of the euro at the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr recorded a level of 32.90 pounds for purchase, and 33.18 pounds for sale. At the Central Bank of Egypt, the euro exchange rate stabilized at 33.08 pounds for purchase, and 33.20 pounds for sale.

The exchange rate of the pound sterling at the National Bank and Banque Misr stabilized, at 37.85 pounds for purchase, and 38.23 pounds for sale. At the Central Bank, the exchange rate of the pound sterling recorded 38.13 pounds for purchase, and 38.26 pounds for sale.

In the Arab world, the exchange rate of the Saudi riyal at the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr recorded a level of 8.19 pounds for purchase, and 8.22 pounds for sale.

The exchange rate of the UAE dirham reached 8.39 pounds for purchase, and 8.40 pounds for sale. While the Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate stabilized, at 99.37 pounds for purchase, and 100.38 pounds for sale.

The Egyptian government continues its move to contain the crisis of dollar scarcity, especially with regard to the implementation of the government offering program. It managed to collect about 196.3 million pounds from selling a 0.5% stake (8.5 million shares) in Telecom Egypt, which is allocated to the company’s employees in the secondary market of the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

Thus, the deal concludes the secondary offering of a 10% stake in Telecom Egypt by the government, and raises the total value of the deal to about EGP 3.95 billion. The stake was sold at EGP 23.11 per share in the two offering phases, with 9.5% of the shares (162.2 million shares) being sold to institutional investors earlier this month, for EGP 3.75 billion.

This is the first relatively large sale deal within the government’s offering program, through which the government aims to collect $2 billion by the end of next June.

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