Egyptian pound steady

The Egyptian pound was held steady by the central bank which sold $37.8 million at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds per dollar on Tuesday, but strengthened on the parallel market. The official cut-off price remained unchanged from last Tuesday's dollar sale but one trader said the dollar changed hands at 8.03 pounds in the parallel market, stronger than the 8.045 pounds to the dollar rate last week. Egypt has sought to tame a once-thriving currency black market with measures such as a cap on dollar-denominated bank deposits.
The central bank gave permission in January to trade dollars up to 0.10 pounds above or below the official rate, with currency exchange bureaux allowed to trade at 0.15 pounds above or below the official rate.