Egyptian Pound Strengthens as Dollar, Euro Retreat

The U.S. dollar and the euro saw broad declines against the Egyptian pound in most banks on Wednesday, reflecting shifts in market sentiment and ongoing adjustments in the country’s foreign reserves.

At the close of trading:

Dollar:

Banque Misr: 53.27 EGP (buy), 53.37 EGP (sell)

National Bank of Egypt: 53.27 / 53.37 EGP

Commercial International Bank: 53.27 / 53.37 EGP

Banque du Caire: 53.35 / 53.45 EGP

Euro:

Banque du Caire: 61.83 / 62.59 EGP

National Bank of Egypt: 61.74 / 62.53 EGP

Commercial International Bank: 61.74 / 62.50 EGP

Banque Misr: 61.74 / 62.50 EGP

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Central Bank of Egypt reported that net foreign reserves rose slightly to $52.83 billion at the end of March 2026, up from $52.746 billion in February. The gold component of the reserves, however, declined to 19.188 billion EGP from 21.502 billion EGP over the same period.

The central bank also recorded a record net profit of 202.152 billion EGP in February, up from 187.375 billion EGP in January, reflecting an increase of over 14.7 billion EGP.

Egyptian banks’ net foreign assets fell by more than $2 billion, reaching $27.37 billion (1.313 trillion EGP) in February, compared with $29.49 billion (1.385 trillion EGP) in January.

Looking ahead, Moody’s forecasts that government interest payments will peak in the 2026 fiscal year at approximately 63% of revenues (11% of GDP), before easing to around 57% of revenues (10% of GDP) by 2028. The agency expects public debt to decline to roughly 76% of GDP, down from 82% in June 2025, supported by primary surpluses, continued economic growth, and gradually falling borrowing costs.

The market movements underline the ongoing recalibration of Egypt’s foreign currency reserves and investor sentiment amid macroeconomic adjustments.