Expert urges CBE to hold exceptional FX auction

A banking expert urged on Sunday the Central Bank of Egypt to hold an exceptional FX auction of 500 million dollars to be followed by decreasing dollar price in periodical auctions to stop dollar bidding.

The bank has resorted to devaluing Egyptian pound to boost Egyptian exports abroad and lure foreign investments but this did not prevent traders from collecting dollars from the market, Karim Roshdi told MENA.

In the official market, dollar now rose 20 piasters to hit 7.83 pounds while in black market it is sold for 7.90 pounds compared to 7.63 pounds last week.

Dollar has disappeared from the black market while demands on it are still on the rise for fear it will witness more hikes within the coming few days, he said.

However, a National Bank of Egypt official dismissed the possibility that the CBE would hold an exceptional FX auction, saying the decision to devalue the Egyptian pound was taken to boost exports and encourage investments.