CAIRO — The
Egyptian pound plunged on Monday to a near
all-time low of more than 19 to the dollar, in the world’s number one wheat
importer where prices have soared.
اضافة اعلان
Egypt’s currency has not fallen so sharply since
December 2016 when it hit 19.3 to the US greenback after a drastic devaluation.
The central bank on Monday was buying one dollar for
19.01 pounds, compared with a rate of 15.6 in March. That amounts to a drop of
about 22 percent.
In late March, inflation-hit Egypt also devalued its
currency, which lost around 18 percent of its value overnight.
Foreign currency reserves fell more than $7 billion
in April and May to stand at $33.4 billion at the end of June, as a result of
moves “to calm the markets” as well as “external debt repayments”, the central
bank said at the time.
The
Arab world’s largest country, where almost
one-third of the population lives below the official poverty line, is grappling
with inflation of around 15 percent.
Most of Egypt’s wheat imports came from Russia and
Ukraine but Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February sent global prices
soaring.
A first shipment of Ukrainian grain since the
invasion left the port of Odessa on Monday under a landmark deal to lift
Moscow’s naval blockade in the Black Sea.
With its food security under mounting pressure,
Egypt in June said it would receive $500 million in financing from the World
Bank.
Egypt has also requested a new loan from the
International Monetary Fund. That will add to an already sizeable foreign debt
equivalent to almost 90 percent of GDP.
On a visit to Cairo in June, European Commission
chief Ursula von der Leyen pledged “immediate relief of 100 million euros” to
support food security in Egypt.
Saudi Arabia deposited $5 billion to help shore up
central bank reserves at the end of March.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
