The Egyptian pound reached a new low of EGP 30 to the US Dollar on Wednesday, according to the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

As of the date of this article, the Egyptian Pound is trading at EGP 30.95 against the US Dollar.

This series of new devaluations follows the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) agreement to lend Egypt USD 3 bn (EGP 81.7 bn). The loan criteria stipulates that Egypt adopt a free exchange rate regime with a flexible monetary policy; the pound has since dropped by approximately 6% against the dollar, a total of over 26% in the FY 2022/2023.

On January 9th, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered the postponement of any unstarted projects that require foreign currency until the end of the FY in June in order to cope with shortages in foreign currency and rising inflation.

In an effort to curb the effects of the ongoing state of economic turmoil, Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) announced on Wednesday, January 4th, that they will be offering a one-year maturity savings certificate with a 25% interest rate as a move to contain rising inflation and encourage savings. This is the highest yield on record for both banks, and comes as the local market anticipates further devaluation of the pound.