Egypt's central bank kept the pound steady against the dollar at its official foreign currency auction on Sunday but the currency strengthened against the dollar on the black market. Egypt, which depends on imported food and energy, is facing a dollar shortage and increasing pressure to devalue the pound.
The central bank surprised markets when it strengthened the pound against the dollar on November 11 by 20 piasters and has bucked expectations by holding it steady ever since.
The central bank sold $39.4 million at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds to the dollar on Sunday, unchanged from the previous auction.
The official rate is still far stronger than the black market rate, which strengthened to 8.60 pounds to the dollar on Sunday from 8.63 pounds on Thursday.