Cairo - Mubasher: Egypt's Commercial International Bank (CIB) said it reduced the limits of the purchases in foreign currency through both its debit and credit cards abroad.

CIB cut Classic Card owners' maximum purchases outside of Egypt to $2,500 a month from $5,000, and $3,500 a month from $7,500 a month for Gold Card owners.

The move comes among number of measures the Egyptian banks resorted to them amid the sharp shortage in the country's forgein currency supplies.

The value of the dollar when bought through the banking system is 8.88 Egyptian pounds, compared with a black market rate of 12.70 pounds on Wednesday, according to Reuters.