2024-01-16 10:58:10
At least five Egyptian banks have imposed new restrictions on cash withdrawals and spending abroad, as the country suffers from a foreign currency crisis, according to Bloomberg.
Al Baraka Bank and the Egyptian Gulf Bank have completely canceled international cash withdrawals, according to data published on their websites cited by Bloomberg.
Other banks, including Commercial International Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank Egypt, reduced daily and monthly limits to at least $50, according to data on their websites.
The International Monetary Fund, which has not yet completed its first review of a $3 billion agreement negotiated in late 2022, said on January 11 that discussions with Egypt will continue in the “coming weeks.”
He added that there is a significant increase in the loan on the table, as Egypt faces economic repercussions from the Israeli war on GazaWhile tensions in the Red Sea cause a sharp decline in traffic through the Suez Canal.
The price of the pound officially stabilized at around 30.9 pounds to the dollar during most of last year, but it is trading at a level of up to 56 pounds in the parallel market. However, another devaluation threatens to increase inflation, which has finally begun to slow following reaching a level… A record high of 38% last September.
The moves are the latest stark sign of Egypt’s nearly two-year-old economic crisis, as authorities struggle to implement an ambitious reform program backed by the International Monetary Fund that is set to include the sale of dozens of state assets and a more flexible currency. Most economists expect another decline in the value of the Egyptian pound – the fourth since early 2022 – in the first quarter of this year.
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