CAIRO: The Egyptian central bank held the pound steady at a dollar sale on Tuesday, selling $37.8 million at a cut-off price of 7.9301, but the currency weakened on the parallel market.
Egypt, which is facing a currency crisis due to what many economists consider to be an over-valued pound, had allowed the it to weaken to 7.83 pounds per dollar from 7.73 on Thursday, then to 7.93 on Sunday.
On the parallel market, one trader said the dollar traded at 8.50 pounds while another trader said the rate was 8.60 pounds per dollar, compared with 8.42 pounds on Sunday.
Egypt has sought to tame a once-thriving currency black market by imposing a cap on dollar-denominated bank deposits among other measures.
In January the central bank allowed banks to exchange currency at 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.
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