The central bank let the Egyptian pound depreciate for the first time in five months on Thursday, bringing the currency to its weakest level since auctions began in December 2012.
The bank said it offered $40 million at a regular dollar auction and sold $38.8 million at a cutoff price of 7.63 pounds per dollar, weaker than Sunday's price of 7.53.
Egypt began auctioning dollars in December 2012, which bankers saw as a possible controlled shift toward a free float. But two years later the central bank still plays a powerful role in supporting the pound.
The rates at which banks are allowed to trade dollars are determined by the results of central bank sales, giving the bank effective control over official exchange rates.
As well as letting the pound depreciate, the central bank gave banks permission in January to widen the band around the official rate at which they can trade dollars to up to 0.10 pounds more or less than the official rate. The bank also imposed a limit on dollar deposits in banks.
A local currency trader said the pound was changing hands at 7.68 to the dollar on Thursday, unchanged from the rate quoted following the last dollar auction on Sunday.
