CAIRO: Egypt has revised its average expected exchange rate to 18 Egyptian pounds to the dollar from 17.25 pounds for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, according to a Finance Ministry report published. The report, issued after the first half of the financial year running from July to June, also revised its forecast for the average interest rate offered on treasury bonds and bills to 18.6 per cent, up from 14.7 per cent previously.

The Egyptian pound has strengthened slightly against the US currency since late January, and was trading at 17.605 to the dollar on Sunday. The country spent 30.169 billion Egyptian pounds on fuel subsidies in July to December 2018, up from 26.651 billion EGP in the same period the previous year, the report said.

Reuters