Egypt's Finance Minister announces they will fix the dollar exchange rate to 18.5 EGP for importers, and promises to revisit and adjust the rate on a monthly basis at the end of February.
Egyptian importers have been struggling to maintain their operations since the central bank decided to free float Egypt’s currency in November. In an effort to keep the Egyptian pound flexible, and yet predictable for importers, Egypt’s Finance Minister announced that Egypt will fix the customs exchange rate at 18.5 pounds per dollar until the end of February.
According to the state news agency MENA, Egypt’s Finance Minister has fixed the customs exchange rate at 18.5 EGP per dollar until the end of February, promising to review and adjust the rate each month. Egypt abandoned its peg of 8.8 EGP to the U.S dollar in November to secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Since then, Egyptian importers have been struggling to deal with their dollar debts after the value of the Egyptian pound was halved, making it increasingly difficult to price their imported goods in Egyptian pounds pleading the government to intervene and fix the customs dollar exchange rate. However, many importers believe the new measure falls short of the help they require as Ahmed Shiha, head of the importers division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, tells Reuters that, "They are taking the average rate at the banks and the dollar may weaken during that month. We were expecting the rate to be at 10 pounds per dollar."
Egypt's Big Macs Are Officially the Cheapest in the World htt
p://www.cairoscene.com/Buzz/Egypt-s-Big-Macs-Are-Officially-the-Cheapest-in-the-World @cairosceneさんから
The price of a Big Mac varies greatly depending on which country you're in when you make your order. If you're in the US, home of the Big Mac, you're looking at a 5 dollar bill. Egypt, however, offers the cheapest Big Mac in the world, costing only $1.46, The Telegraph reports.
Egypt, along with Ukraine, Malaysia, and South Africa are the only countries that offer a Big Mac for under $2. The world's most expensive Big Mac is found in Sweden, where it sets you back $6.35.
Since 2016, Egypt moved 6 spots down the Big Mac Index (yes, that's a thing), replacing Venezuela - where you could get a Big Mac for as low as 60 cents around the same time last year - as the country with the cheapest Big Mac. At $3.1 a pop, Saudi Arabia, the only other Arab country featured on the Big Mac Index, makes the list as the 12th cheapest country for the fast food delight.
The new price comes after the devaluation of the Egyptian pound last November, which cost the pound 40% of its value against the US dollar.
The Central Bank of Egypt floated the pound and raised key interest rates in November as part of a set of reforms to revive the country's flagging economy
Ahram Online , Saturday 11 Feb 2017
Egypt's annual headline inflation rose to 29.6 percent in January from 24.3 percent in the previous month, hitting its highest level after the country freely floated its currency against the dollar in November, state statistics body CAPMAS announced Saturday.
Annual headline inflation was registered at 10.7 percent in January 2016.
In an emailed statement today, CAPMAS attributed the spike in inflation to price hikes in basic goods and services.
The cost of foodstuffs and beverages rose by seven percent in January 2017 compared to November 2016 and 38.6 percent year-on-year.
Egypt's annual core inflation registered 25.86 percent in December from 20.73 percent in November, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced in early January.
The core consumer price index that the CBE uses to measure the level of prices – after excluding volatile cost commodities such fruits and vegetables – started to hit double-digits in May 2016, when it recorded a seven-year-high rate of 12.2 percent.
The CBE decided in early November to float the pound against the dollar and raise key interest rates as part of a set of reforms aiming to revive the country's flagging economy.
In July 2014, Egypt embarked on a fiscal reform programme in an attempt to curb a growing state budget deficit — now 12.2 percent of the GDP — by cutting subsidies and introducing new taxes, including the value added tax.
Egypt's economy has been struggling since the 2011 uprising, with a sharp drop in tourism and foreign investment, two main sources of hard currency for the import-dependent country.
The Central Bank of Egypt announced on Monday that the country's core inflation soared to a record 30.86 percent in January from 25.86 percent the previous month, as consumers continue to be hit with prices upsets after the country's flotation of its currency and increase in fuel prices.
According to the CBE, the monthly rate increased by 5.0 percent in comparison to a 4.35 percent increase last December.
The US dollar has strengthened against the Egyptian pound for first time in almost a month to register an average of EGP 18 on Tuesday, according to central bank data.
In early February, the official exchange rate of the pound against the greenback strengthened from EGP 18.5 to EGP 15.7 in the middle of last month.
Accordingly, Egypt's finance ministry lowered the customs dollar twice last month to reach an exchange rate of EGP 16 and then down to EGP 15.75 to reflect the leap in the Egyptian pound's value against the greenback.
The ministry has stated that it would revise the exchange rate of the customs dollar again in the coming days.
In January, the customs dollar registered EGP 18.5 after the pound's value weakened significantly, reaching EGP 19 against the dollar only one month after the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to float the pound.
The CBE freely floated the pound from its fixed EGP 8.88 rate against the dollar in early November as part of a set of economic reforms to alleviate Egypt’s flagging economy.
Egypt’s foreign reserves reached $26.3 billion by the end of January 2017, up from around $16.5 billion in January 2016, the central bank said.
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Egypt's cabinet announces new increase in price of subsidised energy ht
tp://english.ahram.org.eg/News/271715.aspx @ahramonlineさんから
Ahram Online , Thursday 29 Jun 2017
Egypt’s cabinet announced on Thursday a cut in energy subsidies, effective immediately, resulting in an increase in fuel prices.
The price of 80-octane gasoline has increased from EGP 2.35 per litre to EGP 3.65.
The price of 92-octane gasoline has been raised from EGP 3.50 to EGP 5.
The price of gas cylinders has doubled from EGP 15 to EGP 30.
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday that the implementation of economic reform measures can no longer be delayed.
"The cost of fuel subsidies approaches EGP 150 billion, a cost the state cannot bear," Ismail said.
Ismail said that the cuts in energy subsidies will free up funds that will be redirected towards measures that would protect low-income citizens.
"Mostly there has been no justice in the distribution of subsidies. What we are doing now is correcting the allocation of subsidies as part of the country's economic reform programme," Ismail said.
The move comes as part of the government's five-year plan to gradually scrap its fuel subsidy bill from the state budget. The goal is to decrease subsidies from EGP 145 billion this fiscal year – which ends in June – to EGP 110 billion in the 2017/18 fiscal year.
Fuel subsidy cuts were part of an economic reform package adopted in July 2014 that aimed to ease the country's growing budget deficit.
The first increase of fuel prices came in November, shortly following the Central Bank of Egypt freely floated the pound.
