Egyptian pound steady at official auction and in exchange bureaus

Egypt's central bank kept the Egyptian pound EGP= steady at 7.73 per dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Sunday after a depreciation earlier last month. The pound remained steady at currency exchange bureaus.

The central bank said it had offered $40 million and sold $37.8 million at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds per dollar CBEO, unchanged from Thursday's rate.

The central bank held the pound at 7.5301 for five months until earlier last month, when it allowed it to weaken to 7.6301. On July 5, the bank let it slide a further 0.10 pounds.

Analysts say letting the pound weaken in a controlled way could boost exports and attract further investment, but also raises Egypt's large bill for imported fuel and food staples.

Egypt has sought to tame a once-thriving currency black market with measures such as a cap on dollar-denominated bank deposits.

Two traders at currency exchange bureaus said the pound was changing hands at 7.875/88 per dollar on Sunday, virtually unchanged from 7.87/.88 per dollar quoted on Thursday.

The central bank gave banks permission in January to trade dollars up to 0.10 pounds more or less than the official rate, with an extra 0.05 pounds for currency exchange bureaus.