Cairo: The price of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound increased over the past few days, and one dollar reached 49.25 Egyptian pounds.
Egyptian economic experts attribute this increase to recent regional developments.
Dr. Alaa Ali, an economic expert, said: “The biggest factor affecting the price of the dollar against the pound is the remittances of Egyptians abroad.
This economist told Arab News: If it increases, the price of the dollar will stabilize or decrease against the pound, and if it decreases, the price of the dollar will increase, and as a result, the price of the pound will decrease.
Remittances from Egyptians abroad have been high since the Egyptian government decided to liberalize the exchange rate about eight months ago, which helped stabilize the dollar at around 48 pounds.
“But with the recent tensions, remittances from Egyptians have decreased, and so the price of the dollar against the pound has increased by about one pound,” Ali said.
Tourism resources, investment, exports and remittances of Egyptians have a great value in dollar earnings.
Ali said he hoped the price would stabilize once the third tranche of the IMF loan, which is more than $800 million, is received.
Mohammad Shoghi, a professor of economic risk management, also commented on the reasons for the recent increase in the price of the dollar against the Egyptian pound.
Shoghi pointed to regional tensions and the threat of Iran's military response to Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
He emphasized to Arab News: The more tense the situation in the region, the more negatively the economic situation will be affected.
Matta Bashai, the head of the importers department of the Chamber of Commerce, said: “In the past period, we saw a kind of reticence of importers to the dollar due to the fear of regional incidents and instability in the region.”
These developments “prompted many to reduce their dollar spending, fearing an explosion of the regional situation in light of Iran's threats to retaliate against Israel, and try to reduce spending in any way possible.”
He added: Banks are working normally and after the Ras al-Hikma deal, which led to large financial flows in a historic investment agreement that reached 35 billion dollars, dollars are paid to importers normally.
Bashai said: The main reason for the increase in the dollar price in banks is the tension in the regional conditions, which caused investors to worry.
At the same time, he emphasized that the government is “working normally and effectively dealing with the crisis.”
