The pace of the US dollar price’s rise against the Egyptian pound moderated on Sunday. The slowdown was supported by the announcement that Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a new funding agreement worth $5.2bn.
The latest agreement between the two comes on the back of the almost $2.8bn in emergency financial assistance Egypt received from the IMF in May. The assistance was provided under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to help Egypt meet urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) reported that the price of the US dollar at the end of trading on Sunday recorded EGP 16.1683 for buying, and EGP 16.2683 for selling, compared to EGP 16.1489 for buying and EGP 16.2489 for selling last Thursday, an increase of about 2 piasters.
Meanwhile, the CBE announced on Sunday that Egypt’s foreign reserves fell to $36.0037bn in May, from $37.037bn in April.
Egypt’s gold reserves, however, increased by $100m to $3.805bn in May, from about $3.705bn in April, which cushioned the drop in net foreign reserves, while FX reserves were down by $1.048bn.
Moreover, the balance of foreign currencies decreased by about $1.048bn to $32.094bn in May, compared to $33.142bn in April.
The balance of special drawing rights also decreased to $107m, compared to $192m in the comparison period, and the balance of the International Monetary Fund loans reached $2m.
Banking expert Mohamed Abdel-Aal told Daily News Egypt that the recent decline in the Egyptian pound price against the US dollar is normal in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Abdel-Aal noted that the local currency’s devaluation is temporary, and that there are 12 factors supporting the Egyptian pound, the most important of which is the agreement with the IMF.
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