CAIRO: The US dollar has risen against the Egyptian pound in recent days, with one dollar worth 49.25 Egyptian pounds.
Egyptian economic experts attributed the rise to recent regional developments.
“The biggest factor affecting the price of the dollar against the pound is remittances from Egyptians abroad,” said Dr. Alaa Ali, economic expert.
“If it rises, the dollar price will stabilize or fall against the pound, and if it falls, the dollar price will rise and thus the pound price will fall,” the economist told Arab News.
“Remittances from Egyptians abroad have been high since the Egyptian government's decision to liberalize the exchange rate about eight months ago, helping to stabilize the dollar price at around 48 pounds.
“However, with the recent tensions, remittances from Egyptians in foreign currencies have decreased, so the price of the dollar against the pound has increased by about a pound,” Ali said.
“Egyptians' tourism, investment, export and remittance resources are of great value in dollar earnings.”
Ali said he hoped the price would stabilize again when Egypt receives the third tranche of the International Monetary Fund loan, which has exceeded about $800 million.
Mohamed Shawqy, a professor of economic risk management, also commented on the reasons for the recent increase in the price of the dollar against the Egyptian pound.
Shawqy referred to regional tensions and the threat of an Iranian military response against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
He emphasized to Arab News: “The more tense the situation in the region, the more negatively the economic situation is affected.
The head of the importers division at the Chambers of Commerce, Matta Beshai, said: “The past period has seen a kind of reservation among importers about the dollar due to concerns about regional events and instability in the region.”
This development “prompted a large number of people to reduce their spending in dollars and to cut costs in every possible way for fear of an explosion of the regional situation in light of Iranian threats of retaliation against Israel”.
He added: “Banks are operating normally and dollars are being paid to importers as normal after the Ras Al-Hekma deal, which has helped large financial flows in a historic investment deal that reached $35 billion.
Beshai said that “the main reason for the increase in the dollar price in banks is the tension in the regional situation, which has led to clear concerns among investors.”
At the same time, he emphasized that the state “functions normally and deals with the crisis effectively”.
