US dollar hits highest exchange rate on Egypt’s black markets

Egypt’s black market exchange rate for the US dollar reached a record high of 53 Egyptian pounds amid calls for the cash-strapped North African country to devalue its currency.

The latest rise in the black market price of the US dollar is due to a worsening in recent weeks of an FX crunch that has plagued net-importing Egypt since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war and ensuing exodus of foreign deposits, an unofficial currency trader told The National.

Increased demand for US dollars in late November resulted in a drop of dollars on the market, he said.

“At the end of last month, there was a noticeable rise in demand. Many more people than earlier this year went out searching for US dollars and in large amounts. My read is that everyone is doing this in anticipation of a devaluation by the government which we were all expecting to happen soon after the elections, as a means of preserving the value of their savings,” said the trader, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the illegality of his work.

Egyptian banks, all of which have in recent weeks tightened depositors’ access to US dollars through debit and credit cards, are still operating at the official exchange rate of 30.9 Egyptian pounds per US dollar.

SOurce: thenationalnews