Egypt’s pound keeps falling on black market ahead of IMF meeting

Egypt’s pound keeps falling on black market ahead of IMF meeting

CAIRO - The gap between the official rate of the Egyptian pound against the dollar and the price on the black market has widened further, putting pressure on Egypt ahead of a crucial International Monetary Fund board meeting next week.

Egypt continues to face a foreign currency shortage despite two major devaluations this year.

The International Monetary Fund is due on Dec. 16 to review Egypt's request for a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility to help shore up its finances. Egypt and the IMF announced the package at the staff level on Oct. 27.

Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said on Wednesday he expected the IMF board to approve the package at the meeting.

When Egypt announced the staff-level agreement, it said it had moved to a "durably flexible exchange rate regime, leaving the forces of supply and demand to determine the value of the EGP against other foreign currencies".

In a statement issued by the cabinet on Friday, Kouchouk reiterated that the agreement with the IMF aimed to achieve a flexible exchange rate.

Dealers on the black market were selling dollars for 32 to 33 pounds compared to the official rate of about 24.6 to the dollar. Street level vendors were buying dollars for around