Pursuits
Pound Slumps as Egyptian Banks ‘Scrape Barrel’ Over FX Shortage
- Lenders imposed credit card caps to limit overseas withdrawals
- Currency crisis weighing on economy with pound at record low
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The Egyptian pound extended a record low on the black market, as tighter restrictions on the use of local debit and credit cards overseas and comments by the central bank governor stoked speculation of a devaluation.
The pound fell to 12.99 per dollar on Tuesday from 12.02 last week, according to the average quote of five currency traders in Cairo and Alexandria. That’s the lowest since Bloomberg started tracking black market data in 2013, and ends two months of relative stability with the pound hovering at about 11 per dollar until the beginning of July. The official rate is 8.8.