01:21 PM Thursday 08 February 2024
Written by Manal Al-Masry:
The price of the dollar in the parallel market – the black market for currency trading – recorded a new high of about 3 pounds during Thursday’s trading after a sharp decline last Sunday, according to what two observers Masrawy spoke to said.
According to observers, the price of the dollar in the parallel market rose to about 60 and 63 pounds during today’s transactions, compared to about 59 pounds during yesterday’s transactions, despite the continued decline in buying and selling operations in anticipation of the return of the Central Bank to exchange rate flexibility.
The rise in the price of the dollar on the black market came after it recorded a decline of about 19 pounds during last Sunday’s transactions, falling to the level of 54 and 55 pounds, compared to more than 73 pounds during last week’s transactions.
The price of the dollar in the parallel market is unrealistic and exaggerated, which is due to increased speculation among major currency manipulators, exploiting the shortage of foreign exchange supply in banks and money exchanges, according to what bankers and economists Masrawy spoke to earlier said.
During the last two years, Egypt has faced a shortage of foreign exchange, the spread of the black market for currency trade, a high deficit in the net foreign assets of the Egyptian banking sector, and the accumulation of waiting lists for import financing after the exit of indirect foreign investments amounting to about $22 billion during the first half of 2022 due to the negative consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war. .
The price gap between the parallel market and the official market reached about 100%, as it is trading within the banking sector at around 31 pounds as of today’s trading, which is a fixed price since last March.
Observers explained the rise in the price of the dollar on the black market after the state of panic subsided due to the Central Bank beginning to return to the policy of flexible exchange rate of the pound in banks after it raised the interest rate last Thursday and the expected foreign exchange inflows did not enter.
The Central Bank of Egypt raised the interest rate by 2% in the first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee during 2024 last Thursday, bringing the interest level between 21.25% for deposits and 22.25% for lending.
Following the Central Bank’s decision to raise interest rates, the International Monetary Fund announced that an agreement was close to being reached with Egypt regarding the postponed first and second reviews, which means that $700 million of the loan allocated to Egypt is close to being disbursed.
The European Union also announced at its summit in Brussels last week its approval to provide additional financial allocations to Egypt within the framework of the mid-term review of the European budget for the period (2021-2027), and what this decision includes in terms of allocating financial and economic support, according to a previous statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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