Egyptian pound breaks through 16 per dollar, first time since February 2017

The Egyptian pound extended the robust gains it has made against the dollar in 2019, trading stronger than 16.00 pounds to the greenback for the first time since February 2017.

The Egyptian currency closed at 15.99 against the dollar on Monday and strengthened marginally to 15.98 on Tuesday. It has appreciated around 10.5% against the dollar since Jan. 1.

The pound last traded stronger than 16.00 to the dollar on Feb. 28, 2017, when if firmed to 15.79.

Ahmed Hafez, Renaissance Capital's head of research for the Middle East and North Africa, said a stronger pound could reduce foreign purchases of Egyptian treasuries, predicting the currency may weaken next year.

"We think lower interest rates mean we should see less fixed income portfolio money coming to Egypt in 2020," he said.