Egypt's central bank will hold on Sunday an exceptional foreign exchange auction for $600 million to cover strategic imports, it said in a statement.

Bids will be accepted between 1.30 and 2.00 p.m. Cairo time (1130 and 1200 GMT), it said, adding that no quotas will be applied.

The auction is 15 times the size of the three weekly currency auctions the cash-strapped central bank has been holding in recent months. – Reuters