Egypt has enforced a set of rules which have eliminated the black market in currency, the central bank governor said during Egypt's Economic Development Conference on Saturday.
"We can say that there is no black market in Egypt in the time being," said central bank governor Hisham Ramez, addressing the attendees of the conference in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The central bank has offered a "more flexible" exchange rate and policy and has enforced a set of technical rules which have completely eliminated the unofficial currency market, Ramez said.
The bank has begun on January 18 allowing the Egyptian pound to weaken in front of the U.S. dollar for the first time in six months, reaching 7.56 dollars. It said the step was taken to eliminate the black market.
In a second blow to the black market, the central bank capped on February 5 the amount of dollars that can be deposited in banks.
The central bank witnessed a large increase in resources, Ramez said, adding that liquidity has begun pouring into official channels instead of the black market.
Ramez said that the central bank was able to repay all foreign dues on time, adding that Egypt has paid $22 billion worth of foreign dues since the January 2011 uprising which toppled the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt's foreign reserves rose by $27 million during the month of February, standing at $15.456 billion, the central bank announced on March 3.
