Egypt pound weakens to more than 6 to dollar
Cairo, November 24, 2011
The Egyptian pound weakened to more than 6 to the US dollar on Thursday for the first time since January 2005, after protests have shaken confidence and Standard & Poor's lowered its rating on Egypt.
Investors have been rattled by several days of violent clashes between protesters and security forces. Demonstrators have demanded the ruling military council hand power to civilians immediately.
The pound traded as weak as 6.0025 the dollar before settling around 6.0010. "The central bank is doing an admirable job at trying to maintain stability in the currency despite strains internally from poor sentiment surrounding the protests," said Angus Blair of Beltone Financial. - Reuters