Egypt's central bank kept the pound steady at 7.53 pounds to the dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Wednesday, and the pound remained marginally weaker albeit relatively stable on the black market. The central bank said it offered $40 million on Wednesday and sold $38.3 million at a cut-off price of 7.5301 pounds per dollar. The central bank has now kept the official exchange rate steady for more than a month after letting the pound weaken in an effort to wipe out black market trading.
The pound was slightly weaker on the parallel market, with one trader quoting a rate of 7.66 pounds compared to Monday's 7.65 pounds. Analysts say the central bank may have decided to stabilise the currency to stop it from depreciating too much and because it hopes other recent measures will have an impact.