Egypt central bank to announce forex auctions on Monday

CAIRO: Egypt's central bank cancelled an auction of foreign currency on Sunday and said it would announce details of upcoming auctions on Monday, signalling a change to a system of currency sales brought in to stem a decline in the country's foreign reserves.

In a brief statement, the central bank did not say why it had cancelled Sunday's auction - one of three it had been holding each week for the last few weeks.

The new central bank governor, Hisham Ramez, was due to take up his post on Sunday.

The central bank has been auctioning US dollars to banks on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays as part of the new system brought in at the end of December.

The value of the Egyptian pound has weakened steadily since then, losing nearly 8 percent of its value on the interbank market.