The US dollar exchange rate varied in the Friday trading session in banks operating on the local market, recorded at LE16.09 for purchase and LE16.19 for sale in the United Bank.
The dollar price closed at LE16.08 for purchase and LE16.18 for sale in the Suez Canal Bank and the Egyptian Arab Land Bank.
In Banque Misr and Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, dollar prices recorded LE16.09 for purchase and LE16.19 for sale.
Youssef Farouk, deputy head of an exchange company, said that the dollar will continue to decline to less than LE16 in the next few days. He referred to the abundance of US currency at banks and in ATMs.
Radwa al-Swaify, head of research at Pharos Holding For Financial Investments, attributed the decline in the dollar to the inflow of foreign investments in financial portfolios, especially fixed-income instruments (treasury bills), tourism revenues, and the stability of remittances of Egyptian expatriates.
In an attempt to revive its economy that began faltering in 2011, Egypt obtained an IMF loan in 2016 in exchange for the implementation of a rigorous reform program, beginning with floating the pound.
Implementation of the program began in November 2016. The international lender agreed to provide Egypt with a $12 billion loan in exchange for wide-ranging structural and economic reforms.
These reforms include a raft of measures such as devaluing the pound currency, loosening capital controls, ending energy subsidies, reforming public enterprises and overhauling monetary policy, all in a bid to restore economic stability and long-term growth.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
