Egyptian Pound devalued to record low against the US Dollar
This drop follows a depreciation in March, which saw the pound slip an initial 14 percent. Bloomberg Economics estimates the pound needs to weaken to EGP 24.6 per USD 1 “to bring Egypt’s trade deficit to a reasonable level.”
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has responded by announcing a two percent hike in interest rates for the fourth quarter of 2022. This raises lending rates to 14.25 percent, and deposit rates to 13.25 percent respectively. The decision is intended to “uphold the CBE’s mandate of ensuring price stability in the local market over the medium term.”
Earlier in the week, and ahead of the CBE’s efforts, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the increase of minimum wage pay for public employees from EGP 2,700 (USD 118.6) to EGP 3,000 (USD 131.8). Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, added that more than 10.5 million pensioners will benefit from this decision.