Egyptian pound currency drops by 10.67 pct to dollar

Egypt’s pound currency depreciated by 10.67 percent on Monday morning to 17.42-17.52 against the US dollar, Refinitiv data showed.

The currency had been trading at around 15.7 pounds to the dollar since November 2020. The country’s central bank also hiked overnight interest rates by 100 basis points in a surprise monetary policy meeting earlier on Monday.

State-owned Banque Misr announced on Monday it was offering certificates of deposit with yield of 18 percent.

Foreign investors began withdrawing billions of dollars from Egypt’s money market after Russian troops entered Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine are Egypt’s main suppliers of wheat. They are also an important source of tourists and the foreign currency they bring.