The Egyptian pound fell to more than 26 per dollar - today, Wednesday - recording the largest daily movement since the Central Bank allowed it to decline 14.5% on October 27.
The Egyptian currency was trading before that at 24.70 pounds to the dollar.
Egypt suffers from an acute shortage of foreign currency despite the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and the announcement of a $3 billion support package from the International Monetary Fund.
And the state-owned Banque Misr and the National Bank announced - in two statements earlier today - the issuance of a savings certificate with a return of 25% annually for a year, in a move that often indicates the “Central” intention to devalue the local currency, and also gives a negative signal to the markets that the pound He will face more pressure amid the dollar scarcity crisis.
Exchange rate flexibility was a major demand of the International Monetary Fund, which approved a 46-month, $3 billion bailout package for Egypt last October.
Cairo had been seeking the loan since last March, after the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine exacerbated a foreign exchange shortage, causing a sharp slowdown in imports and the accumulation of goods at ports.
Last week, it was announced that relevant authorities had gradually abolished the mandatory letters of credit system for importers imposed in February, exacerbating the import crisis.
This data comes while the Central Bank of Egypt said yesterday that net foreign currency reserves rose to 34 billion dollars in December, compared to 33.3 billion in November.