All about the USD: The nation’s talking heads were hyper-focused on all things USD last night after the currency dipped in the parallel market only weeks after reaching an unprecedented high that saw it above the EGP 50 mark. There is some speculation that the government played a part in the EGP’s gains, injecting USD 2 bn into the local market.

The experts believe otherwise: “It’s not that additional USD was pumped into the market, it’s that people have suddenly stopped buying [USDs],” economist Medhat Nafei told Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime 1:20). Banking expert Tarek Metwally, echoed Nafei’s remark, saying that the dip in the USD’s price in the black market can be attributed to lower demand for overpriced nonessential goods and lower government demand for the USD (watch, runtime 1:24).

Local gold prices haven’t been affected by the recent surge in global prices, Hani Milad, head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce’s gold division, told El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 3:01). The increase local gold prices have seen over the past month is moderate in comparison to that seen by global prices, he added.

Remember: Global gold prices have been rising on speculation that the US Federal Reserve has reached the end of its aggressive monetary tightening cycle and will start cutting rates as soon as next year. Global prices rose 1.6% on Friday to reach USD 2.1k per ounce. Meanwhile, local prices remained unchanged from two weeks ago, with the price of 24-carat gold sitting at EGP 3,200 per gram.

Also on the airwaves last night

  • El Sisi attends COP28: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was in Dubai over the weekend to attend COP28. (Masa’a DMC | watch, runtime: 0:46)
  • Egyptian expats go to the polls: It’s the last day for expats to cast their vote in the 2023 presidential elections. The polls opened on Friday. (Ala Mas’ouleety | watch, runtime: 4:29) (Al Hayah Al Youm | watch, runtime: 2:00)
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