- Egypt Stocks Soar Most Since 2008 on Plans to Float the Currency
Egyptian stocks jumped after the central bank said it would allow the currency to float as part of measures designed to tackle a dollar shortage that has sapped economic growth.
The EGX 30 Index rose 8.3 percent at the 10 a.m. open, the most in eight years, to 9,223.24, as all but one of the gauge’s 30 members advanced. The currency’s 12-month non-deliverable forwards weakened to a record 16.8750 per dollar.
The central bank said it would end exchange-rate controls as it announced a series of measures to restore investor confidence in an economy still recovering from a series of uprisings that toppled two leaders in less than six years. The move would bring the nation closer to securing a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, helping attract foreign cash back into the market.
Policy makers set a tentative exchange rate of 13 pounds per dollar, plus or minus 10 percent, until the central bank holds a foreign-currency auction at 1 p.m. local time, according to two people familiar with the matter. The currency will float freely after the sale, they said. It also raised its key interest rates by 300 basis points, according to a statement on the central bank’s website.