Egypt central bank widens band in which banks can trade dollars

Egypt's central bank widened the band in which banks can trade dollars to 10 piasters above or below the official rate, up from 3 piasters, bankers said on Thursday, prompting the lenders' dollar rates to fall to their weakest ever levels.

Egypt has been attempting to tackle a flourishing black market in the pound by allowing for the gradual depreciation of the currency over the past two weeks, raising expectations for a less interventionist approach to managing the pound.

The central bank's decision to allow for a wider band for trading in dollars prompted the rate at which Egyptian banks sell dollars to their clients to weaken to 7.59 pounds per dollar, bankers said, it's weakest level ever.

Earlier on Thursday, Egypt's central bank had allowed the pound to weaken to an official rate of 7.49 per dollar at a dollar auction, the weakest level it has been allowed to reach since auctions began in December 2012.