Egypt Defends IMF Deal Measures as Households Worry About Costs
- Prime minister says Egypt no longer had ‘luxury’ of delaying
- Currency float, subsidy cuts aimed at securing $12b IMF loan
Egypt Stocks Soar as Bonds Rally on Currency Float
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A day after floating its currency and raising fuel prices, Egypt’s government turned to defending the unprecedented measures to a frustrated population increasingly panicked about making ends meet.
“Today, we don’t have the luxury to postpone these decisions; today, we can’t take painkiller decisions," Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said at a press conference early on Friday, where at least five ministers -- including the finance, oil and supply briefs -- lined up to speak. “We’re taking important decisions, decisions that will revive the economy and take it forward.”