Egypt is not concerned about the dollar’s recent rise against the Egyptian pound, President Mohamed Morsy said Monday in statements quoted by state-run news agency MENA.
The market will stabilize within days and funds are being pumped in to balance the market, Morsy said during a meeting with Arab media members on Sunday, according to MENA.
The Egyptian pound made a record drop on Sunday against the US dollar after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) developed a new regime to maintain foreign reserves and attempt to curb the exacerbating economic crisis.
Morsy said the government has moved towards balancing the market, adding that dollar purchasing on Sunday drove its price up to LE6.29.
The new mechanism by the CBE involves periodic offers for buying and selling the US dollar with the aim of maining the eroding foreign reserves that have reached to a critical low.
The new system, which depends on dollar inter-banking, is a first step towards liberating the pound, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Banks Tarek Amer said Monday.
More than a month of political tumult has cast uncertainty on the government’s ability to proceed with spending cuts and taxation increases, unpopular yet necessary measures to obtain a US$4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Edited translation from MENA
