Egypt News

The median overnight interbank rate on the Egyptian pound rose to 11.9 percent on Sunday from 11.851 percent on Thursday as foreign investors sought to convert pounds to dollars, squeezing liquidity, dealers said Dealers said they believed foreign investors who had exited the Egyptian stock market in recent days due to the global financial crisis were trying to convert their pounds to dollars, causing some banks to be short in pounds.

Six out of 10 banks contacted by Reuters reported dealing in the overnight interbank market at rates between 11.65 and 12 percent. Two banks reported dealing in one-week money at 12 percent.
"The market is a little bit short because of the dollar appreciation," one dealer said, adding that he believed foreigners exiting the country were behind the demand for hard currency. "They are buying dollars."
Another dealer added: "Over the past week there has been more demand than normal, although there is still excess liquidity."
Egypt's benchmark CASE 30 stock index has lost over 22 percent of its value so far this month, and ended 3.1 percent lower on Sunday. Foreign and non-Egyptian Arab investors were net sellers on Sunday by nearly 60 million Egyptian pounds
The Egyptian pound depreciated to 5.5236 to the dollar by 1200 GMT, compared with Thursday's closing weighted average of 5.5059 pounds.

EGYPT NEWS

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