Egyptian pound weakens to historic low against dollar

CAIRO – Egypt's currency has fallen to a historic low against the dollar after a central bank auction.

The bank said it offered 40 million dollars on Wednesday, selling a total of $38.4 million at a cutoff rate of 7.34 Egyptian pounds per dollar.

The central bank, which controls the official exchange rate, has allowed the currency to slide several times over the last week. On the black market it has traded even lower, with dollars fetching up to 7.94 Egyptian pounds at private exchanges.