Egyptian Pound’s Dramatic Plunge
Egyptian pound bank notes are arranged for a photograph in Cairo. Photographer: Andrew Burton/Bloomberg
Egypt’s pound started the year with another dramatic plunge against the US dollar, piling yet more pressure on consumers in the Middle East’s most populous country.
A 17% fall in the currency over the past two weeks has been taken as a sign the North African nation is finally embracing what it calls a flexible foreign-exchange rate after years of closely managing the pound. A promise to do so helped Egypt clinch a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund — a deal that’s supposed to unlock much larger financial aid and investment from its allies in the Gulf and beyond.