Egypt's central bank kept the pound steady at 7.53 to the dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Monday, and the currency remained unchanged on the black market. The central bank has kept the official exchange rate steady for more than two months since letting the pound weaken at the beginning of 2015. This step and other measures have helped to reduce black market trading significantly.
The bank said it had offered $40 million at auction on Monday and sold $38.5 million at a cut-off price of 7.5301 pounds per dollar, unchanged from its last auction on Sunday. The rates at which banks are allowed to trade dollars are determined by the results of official auctions. This gives the central bank effective control over exchange rates.
A trader in the parallel market said the pound was trading at 7.67 pounds to the dollar on Monday, unchanged from Sunday. Another trader said it was trading at 7.66 on Monday. Black market traders say volumes have fallen sharply since the central bank's actions to stamp out their transactions, including the introduction of a cap in February on the amount of dollars that can be deposited in banks.
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