Egypt pound strengthens at Monday forex sale

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound appreciated at a central bank sale of foreign currency on Monday, prolonging a gradual increase begun after the military removed President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.

The central bank sold $37.6 million and the cut-off price strengthened to 6.9849 Egyptian pounds per dollar from 6.9858 on Thursday, data from the central bank showed.

The bank had offered $40 million. The cut-off price on July 3 was 7.0184.

The central bank introduced the currency sales, held three times a week, at the end of December to help stave off a currency crisis and thwart a run on the pound.

Since then, the bank had allowed the currency to lose more than 11 percent of its value on the official market.