Good afternoon, friends. It’s another busy day in the press, and the news cycle isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. At home, we’re taking a look at how the EGP is faring.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 The EGP held steady in midday sessions following several days of steep losses after Egypt received a USD 2.3 bn disbursement from the IMF, covering the fifth and sixth reviews of our USD 8 bn EFF and the first review of our Resilience and Sustainability Facility, a senior official source told EnterpriseAM. The greenback was changing hands at EGP 50.14 (buy) and EGP 50.24 (sell) at the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and the CIB.

While the CBE will retain the USD liquidity, the EGP equivalent of roughly USD 2 bn will be directed to the Finance Ministry to help plug the budget gap, with the remaining USD 297 mn earmarked for the Environment Ministry.

Despite the timely buffer, officials remain cautious as “hot money” outflows hit approximately USD 2 bn since the start of the war — a level one of our sources says remains “within safe limits.” The CBE is currently “maneuvering” to contain market spillover as rising oil and shipping costs threaten to push exchange rates to record levels, our source noted.

^^ We’ll have more on this story in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 The regional war continues to dominate headlines as threats to oil supply pushed oil prices up 1% this morning. Brent Crude rose to nearly USD 84 per barrel, and WTI Crude climbed to USD 75.1 per barrel. The price shock is rattling Asian markets, with South Korea’s Kospi making headlines following a record 12.1% plunge amid a tech sell-off and growing investor fears. European stocks steadied after earlier losses, with the Stoxx 600 up 1.4% at the time of publication.

^^Read more on: BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Reuters here and here.

Also in today’s issue: We break down how you can kick off your freelancing journey, and take a look at a modern classic that remains relevant today.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 5:56pm in the capital, and you’ll have until 4:50am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • As foreign outflows from the local debt market topped USD 885 mn yesterday, the CBE refused to burn reserves to defend the currency, instead letting the EGP slide past 50 to the greenback;
  • The Madbouly government is pressing ahead with its IPO program with plans to list 20 state-owned companies this year, targeting USD 6 bn in proceeds;
  • The EGX30 sprint to 60k is likely to take longer than some market participants initially expected as market sentiment shifts to “neutral” on Egyptian equities, marking a retreat from one of the year’s most ambitious targets.

⛅ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for more of the same on the weather front in the capital tomorrow, with a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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