It was all about the green for some of the nation’s talking heads, with the weakening of the EGP to 48.55 against the greenback in the banks as of yesterday being a hot topic of conversation on the airwaves last night.

Why the USD has gotten pricier recently: “Deferred demand for hard currency” after the Eid Al Fitr holiday has contributed to a rise in the price of the USD over the past three days, economist Mostafa Badra phoned in to tell Sherif Amer on Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 3:49 and 3:23). “The longer the vacation period, the greater the demand for USD,” Badra added. Escalating tensions between Iran and Israel also contributed to the change, Badra said, noting the “exit of some foreign investments from the market" as a result of the conflict.

What this spells for consumer prices: “Merchants will not reduce the prices of goods due to the rise in the USD exchange rate," Badra explained.

Elsewhere, the focus was on the price of non-subsidized bread: The bakeries division of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce has submitted a proposal to Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy to cut prices of non-subsidized bread on the back of a decline by up to 35% in local flour prices, Iman El Hosary said on Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 4:38).

What’s next? El Moselhy and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly will hold a meeting with the chairman of the Chamber of Cereals Industry and the head of the bakeries division to discuss the prices of non-subsidized bread today to iron out details of the new pricing system, “which will be binding on bakeries across the country,” Supply Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Kamal told El Hosary. A newly formed committee will meet on a monthly basis to follow up on prices and the cost of production, he added. The Supply Ministry will share the new prices and weights of unsubsidized bread next week in response to local flour prices falling up to 35% on the back of fresh FX inflows, according to a ministry statement.

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