By: Mahmoud Salah Eldin

Cairo - Mubasher: The Egyptian pound continued its fall against the US dollar in the parallel market, amid growing speculations of another pound floating or devaluation by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

This comes after the recent remarks by the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who said on Saturday that there are several prior actions which need to be completed by Egypt before the loan agreement comes into effect regarding exchange rates and subsidies.

According to traders, the dollar rose by EGP 0.15 against the pound in the parallel market, as it reached EGP 13.85 for buying, and EGP 14.25 for selling.

Meanwhile, the dollar settled in the official marker or the banks at EGP 8.83 for buying and EGP 8.88 for selling, according to the National Bank of Egypt (NBE).

Many research firms said that there are growing signs of a long-awaited decision by the CBE to float the pound in order to eradicate the black market and attract more foreign exchange to the formal banking sector.

Both Prime Research and Pharos Holding viewed the recent Lagarde statements as a strong sign that the pound will be devaluated before the end of October, a step that might be accompanied by an unexpected reduction to subsidies, according to Pharos.

Translated by: Moslem Ali