CAIRO: Egypt's central bank held the Egyptian pound steady at 7.73 per dollar at a foreign exchange auction on Tuesday after a depreciation earlier this month.
The currency also remained unchanged on the parallel market.
The central bank said it had offered $40 million and sold $37.5 million at a cut-off price of 7.7301 pounds per dollar , unchanged from Sunday's rate.
The central bank had held the pound at 7.5301 for the past five months until earlier this 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.
The pound also remained steady on the parallel market.
Two currency traders said it was changing hands at 7.86 to the dollar on Tuesday, roughly the same as rates of 7.85/87 quoted on Sunday.
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.
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