The Egyptian pound dropped again against the dollar on the black market on 21 July 2016, extending its recent decline despite central bank efforts to close the gap between demand and supply in the dollar-starved economy. Egypt, which relies heavily on imports, is facing a shortage in foreign currency inflows after a 2011 uprising drove tourists and foreign investors away, causing the country's reserves to tumble to $16.56 billion from $36 billion. A black market for dollars has sucked up liquidity from the banking system while the central bank kept the pound artificially strong and rationed dollars through weekly auctions, putting a strain on foreign reserves. (Photo by Fayed El-Geziry /NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Egypt has paid off the final installment, worth $200 million, of a $1 billion loan it took out from Turkey in 2012 during former President Mohamed Morsi’s brief tenure in office, state news agency MENA said on Thursday.
Egypt also paid Libya $250 million as an installment towards settling a $1.5 billion loan, Central Bank Sub-governor Rami Aboul Naga told MENA, and would pay two more installments worth a combined $500 million next year to settle the debt.
