CAIRO — The US dollar registered its biggest decline in nine months against the Egyptian pound Jan. 27, falling by more than 0.20 pounds, or a little more than 1%. The drop in the dollar's value, which is expected to be temporary, surprised the Egyptian exchange market and caused many traders to suffer losses.
The pound's rise appears to be related to the Central Bank of Egypt's Dec. 4 termination of the foreign exchange repatriation mechanism, which guaranteed that foreign investors could convert investment earnings from Egyptian pounds back into their home currency.