Egypt's Pound Vox Pops: Strong Dollar in Streets

A US dollar crisis has swept Egypt since late December. As the market for foreign currency has dried up, the value of the Egyptian pound dropped consecutively against the dollar to reach LE6.59. While the banking elite assures that people should not be anxious about the pound’s devaluation, saying the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will soon curb the hike in the value of the dollar, various views exist on the street on the drop in the pound and its impact on daily economic life. On Thursday, Hisham Ramez, a former CBE deputy governor, was named the new head of the CBE after President Mohamed Morsi accepted the resignation of CBE governor Farouq El-Oqda, who headed the bank since 2003.

It is expected that Ramez will maintain El-Oqda's longstanding monetary policies. El-Oqda has attempted to shore up the Egyptian pound against foreign currencies by tightening restrictions on currency speculation. Ahram Online met with average citizens and asked them how they feel about the devaluation of the pound and the impact it is having on their lives.