Egyptian pound hits nominal record low ahead of IMF deal
The global economic storm has put a lot of pressure on the local currency, which nevertheless remains strong against other currencies.
Continuing its steady downward trend, the Egyptian pound on Sept. 26 reached nominal historic lows against the dollar, which is strengthening on the back of strong global demand. Egypt’s currency plunged below the previous low of 19.52 recorded in 2016 and hit 19.54 against the greenback, data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) shows. On Oct. 3, the pound closed for the first time above the 19.6 mark in relation to the dollar.
The pronounced capital flight that Egypt has suffered due to the uncertainty and volatility of the global economy, coupled with a heavy debt repayment schedule and the cost of an informal currency peg to the dollar, has put the local currency under increasing pressure over the past year. Faced with this situation, the CBE devalued the pound in March by 14%, and since then it has continued to fall at a steady pace. Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, the pound has lost almost 25% of its value against the dollar, CBE data shows.
