The Egyptian pound has made relative gains since the beginning of the current year against the US dollar, amounting to about 6 piasters, supported by several factors, foremost among them being the success of the Central Bank of Egypt's monetary policies in achieving stability in monetary policy, which has led to a continuous increase in foreign currency reserves exceeding 40 billion dollars. The average exchange rate of the dollar in the Egyptian market decreased from 15.68 EGP for buying and 15.78 EGP for selling at the end of last year, to record 15.62 EGP for buying and 15.72 EGP for selling last Tuesday, just before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt.
Economic experts stated that the successful monetary policies of the central bank have increased confidence from international institutions and investment funds in the Egyptian economy, which was clearly reflected in the rise in foreign investments in treasury bills to a record number of nearly 30 billion dollars, in addition to positive reports and evaluations of the Egyptian economy by international rating agencies, according to the Middle East News Agency.
Samir Raouf, an economic expert, explained that the good performance of the Egyptian pound against the dollar since the beginning of this year reflects the strong performance of the Egyptian economy for the second consecutive year in facing the repercussions of the Coronavirus, especially considering the central bank's success in maintaining cash reserves above the 40 billion dollar mark while providing all dollar needs for various sectors.
Raouf confirmed that the success of the Egyptian industrial sector in meeting local market needs has significantly reduced the import bill, thus decreasing the demand for dollars and alleviating pressures on the pound, coinciding with improvements in export rates and tourism as well as a significant increase in foreign investments in Egyptian treasury bills.
The economic expert predicted further improvement and strong performance of the Egyptian pound with the return of Russian tourism, which is expected to increase the country's foreign currency revenue, as forecasts indicate that the expected revenue from the return of Russian tourism exceeds 3 billion dollars.
