Hours ahead of the Central Bank’s decision to free float the pound, Egyptian social media users engaged in a frenzied campaign Wednesday under the hashtag “the dollar is collapsing” following unverified news of plunging EGP per dollar exchange rates in the unofficial market.
The country woke up this morning to a surprise decision by the Central Bank to free float the local currency at a tentative exchange rate of EGP 13 per US dollar with the value of the pound plummeting by almost 48% from EGP 8.89 per dollar.
Egypt is suffering from a foreign currency crisis, with foreign reserves diminishing to USD 15.54 by July 2016. The dollar reached a record high crossing EGP 18 in the unofficial exchange market on Tuesday.