It was a one-woman show on the airwaves last night, with Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi giving us the only coverage worth noting on recent volatility in the USD exchange rate on the parallel market.

The EGP / USD exchange rate on the black market is falling after last week’s spike. The EGP strengthened slightly against the greenback for the second day in a row to reach 56-55 against the USD, compared to the never before seen EGP 70 rate it was trading at a few days ago, El Hadidi said (watch, runtime: 10:25).

Behind the fall: People believe that the state is in line for a fresh supply of USD, El Hadidi said. “For one, the Ras El Hekma development project — which hasn’t actually been confirmed by the government yet — and upcoming financial packages from the IMF and EU have pushed people to believe that the CBE will pour more USDs into the banking sector, helping tame the black market exchange rate,” El Hadidi explained.

“It’s clear that the parallel market is fragile. The parallel market exchange rate rises due to speculation, anxiety, and the lack of information and declines as rumors spread and expectations change over the imminent availability of USD,” El Hadidi said. The solution to the current crisis lies in “the existence of a real economy that generates USD flows,” she added.

The gold market reacts: Local gold prices fell around EGP 800-1k per gram, coinciding with the decline in the price of the USD in the parallel market, El Hadidi added.

AND IN FOOTBALL NEWS- The Pharaohs part ways with their coach: The Egyptian Football Association has let go of the national team’s Portuguese coach, Rui Vitoria, and appointed former Al Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef as the team’s interim manager until a foreign coach is chosen. The decision came after the Pharaohs’ disappointing Afcon performance, losing to DR Congo, El Hadidi explained (watch, runtime: 11:25).

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