The price of the US dollar against the Egyptian pound on Sunday registered a lower rate at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and banks operating in Egypt, amid expectations that it will further decline in the coming days.

The official price of the dollar at the CBE registered EGP 15.5697 for buying and EGP 16.3122 for selling on Sunday, down from EGP 16.4224 for buying and EGP 17.0738 for selling recorded on Thursday.

At banks, the dollar was changing hands at EGP 15-16 for buying and EGP 15.8-16.5 for selling on Sunday.

Mohamed Abdel Aal, a board member of both the Suez Canal Bank and Arab Sudanese Bank, said that the price of the dollar has followed a downward trend at banks since Thursday, on the back of the positive news about the Egyptian economy.

He added that the US currency started a gradual decline on Sunday and is expected to continue to decline throughout the week to range between EGP 14-15.

Moreover, he said that the CBE and banks in Egypt are upholding their policy to raise interest rates on the Egyptian pound to attract liquidity from the household sector, curb inflation, eliminate attempts of dollarisation, and encourage investors and international funds to sell the dollar and invest in the purchase of treasury bills that offer high return.

In addition, the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) closed on Sunday with sheer positives, pushed by purchases by foreigners, while Arab and Egyptians continued selling.

The market share of the EGX profited EGP 9.3bn, closing at EGP 754.528bn.

Furthermore, EGX30 increased by 2.14% to reach 10,916 points. EGX50 also rose by 3.01% to 1,662 points, while EGX20 rose by 1.85% to 10,311 points.

Similarly, EGX70 increased by 2.78% to 414 points, as well as EGX100 that increased by 1.63% to hit 996 points.