Egyptian pound edges down in early trade, little volume

CAIRO: The Egyptian pound edged down in early interbank trade on Tuesday following the central bank's decision to float the currency at the end of last week, but trading volumes remained tiny as banks were uncertain about supply and demand.

The pound was quoted at 17.25-17.50 against the dollar, after trading at an average of about 16.83 on Monday.

Last Thursday, the central bank scrapped the pound's peg of 8.8 to the dollar, and it has been in a downtrend since then.

Bankers said the pound might continue to drift down in coming days as traders tested the market for levels that would prompt inflows of dollars.

Some think that point could be reached around 18-18.50. "It's not a real market at the moment - there is almost no activity," said one local banker.

Some business was being done with corporate clients at rates close to those in the interbank market, bankers said.