Egypt’s pound heads for biggest drop since October devaluation

Egypt’s pound heads for biggest drop since October devaluation

The Egyptian pound plunged to a record low on Wednesday, heading for its biggest slump since the aftermath of the North African nation’s devaluation in late October.

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The currency has remained under pressure as Egypt faces its worst foreign-exchange crunch in half a decade. It slid 4 percent to 25.8 per dollar in the offshore market as of 12:10 p.m. in Cairo, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Egypt devalued its currency twice in 2022, with a pledge in October to adopt a flexible exchange-rate policy eventually helping the country clinch a $3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The central bank last week revoked a requirement for importers to secure letters of credit, a rule that had been blamed for a massive backlog at ports.

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