Egypt's currency plunges 15% after Cairo agrees to the IMF's key exchange rate conditions

Egypt's currency plunges 15% after Cairo agrees to the IMF's key exchange rate conditions

After the Egyptian authorities announced the adoption of a more flexible exchange rate regime, the pound against the US dollar fell to 23.09, a new low for the currency. Cairo's devaluation of the Egyptian lira was a key condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before it finally approved a $3 billion bailout for Egypt.

IMF main conditions

According to a report, the official exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar fell 15% to 23.09 per dollar after the central bank announced a more flexible exchange rate regime. The devaluation of Cairo's currency comes amid news that Egypt has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to receive a $3 billion bailout.

Prior to the pound's latest crash, the currency was trading below 20 units per dollar. Several Egyptian banks, as well as the IMF, said the exchange rate, last adjusted in March, had overvalued the currency. Prior to this, the pound/dollar exchange rate remained unchanged for about two years.

Egypt's chances of securing a bailout from the International Financial Institution hinge on abandoning the fixed exchange rate regime. The IMF also called for the Egyptian lira to be devalued, the report notes, before finally approving a $12 billion loan package in 2016.

Support for Egypt's ally in the Gulf Cooperation Council

In addition to the $3 billion loan package deal, Egypt is expected to receive $5 billion from "international partners". According to a Reuters article citing unnamed government officials, the additional funds are meant to help Egypt fill the external funding gap. Egypt also requested $1 billion from the newly created IMF Resilience Fund.

Although Egypt's recent IMF loan deal fell short of expectations, Gordon Bowers, an analyst at London-based Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said it likely paved the way for intervention by the country's wealthy allies. He says: