Egypt interbank rate rises to 12 percent

20 Sep, 2004

The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound nudged up to 12 percent on Sunday from 11-1/4 percent on Thursday in a generally quiet market around the middle of the reserve calculation cycle.
Seven out of 11 banks contacted by Reuters had dealt in overnight money, citing rates between 11 and 12-3/4 percent, compared to Thursday's range of 11 to 12 percent.
Three of the banks had dealt in one-week money, at 12 to 15 percent, against a range of 12-1/2 to 13-1/2 percent.
The central bank accepted 370 million Egyptian pounds for 26-day deposits on Thursday, considerably lower than the 800 million it requested, which a few dealers said slightly boosted liquidity.
The overnight CAIBOR rate rose to 10.7806 from 10.5654 percent on Thursday while one-week CAIBOR rose to 11.3452 percent from Thursday's 11.1667 percent.
On the official foreign exchange market, the pound last traded against the dollar at a midrate of 6.24 in banks and exchange houses, a slight drop from recent months.
Bankers said the pound continued to lose value on the black market, apparently because the government's steep cuts in customs duties boosted demand for imports and the dollar.
They cited rates between 6.25 and 6.33 pounds to the dollar, compared to rates of 6.27 to 6.30 cited on Thursday.

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