The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) fixed the price of the dollar against the pound Thursday, in the first tender being offered to sell dollars to banks after Hisham Ramez’s resignation as governor of the CBE and the appointment of Tarek Amer as his successor.
The CBE offered a third tender to sell dollars to banks operating in the Egyptian market this week, in which the CBE sold $37.8m to banks. The bank decided to fix the dollar price during this tender at the price set last Sunday
The CBE raised the price of the dollar against the pound by 20 piasters last Thursday and Sunday, with the dollar price reaching EGP 7.9301 at the CBE, while its price at banks reached EGP 7.98 for buying and EGP 8.0301 for selling.
The CBE offers three tenders to sell dollars to banks weekly, on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday of each week, in which the dollar price is determined by the CBE and thus in banks and exchange companies.
In the parallel exchange market, the price of the dollar fell against the pound after Ramez’s resignation, to record approximately EGP 8.4 for buying and EGP 8.45 for selling.
Mohammed Al-Abyad, head of the General Division for exchange companies in the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) expected the exchange market to stablise in the coming period.
Al-Abyad said the dollar price fell in the parallel market, reflecting the optimism of the market following Ramez’s resignation and the appointment of Amer.
Haitham Abdel Fattah, Director General of the Treasury of the Industrial Development and Workers Bank of Egypt, said the market was awaiting the tender put forward by the CBE on Thursday to sell dollars to banks.
Abdel Fattah added that the market is awaiting for the tender that will be offered Sunday determine the CBE’s vision regarding the future of the pound against the dollar until the end of this year.
Abdel Fattah noted that if the CBE fixes the dollar price again in Sunday’s tender, it would be a strong indicator that the dollar will stabilise against the pound in the official market at the current price, at least until the end of this year.
