The EGP is “overvalued” and “no longer floats freely,” Patrick Werr claims in The National. He says a “new currency crunch may be inevitable in the coming few weeks when the central bank eases restrictions on transferring money out of the country.” Werr says the EGP is getting “less and less convertible” and cites the refusal of his bank, Emirates NBD, to renew his USD 6 NYT subscription as evidence. Setting aside our inability to get as good a price on an NYT sub as Werr (the best we can find is an introductory offer of USD 7.52 or so a month, and we’re paying USD 35 for our package), Werr’s claim runs counter to multiple reports of Egyptian banks dropping restrictions on the use of credit cards abroad and on the internet. We’ve recently used credit cards from three different banks to settle online purchases and have made transfers abroad in the last couple of days without a hitch. Werr is a writer with a wide audience in ENBD’s home market — someone from customer service might want to give him a ring if the claim holds up.

Tags: