The North African country is under pressure to stick to the terms of a $3bn, 46-month financial support package signed in December with the IMF, which included a commitment to shift to a flexible exchange rate regime. However, despite three rounds of devaluations, which saw the pound lose half of its value against the US dollar since March 2022, Egypt still seems to be supporting its embattled currency amid fears that a floating currency could lead to a free fall that Egyptians can hardly bear. Possibility to avoid further devaluation? Egypt’s resources to avert a further slide in the pound’s value look thin as it struggles to generate much-needed foreign currency, with the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war taking its toll. Remittances by foreign-based Egyptians, one of the country’s main sources of hard currency, fell to $12bn in the second half of last year; a 22.6% decrease compared

Source: The North Africa Journal May 23, 2023 07:30 UTC