Egypt: currency devaluation sparks anger 

The details of Egypt’s recent currency devaluation and economic conditions went viral on social media yesterday, following an announcement by the Central Bank that it has raised interest rates alongside the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. After the announcement, the US dollar traded at 18.25 pounds, after standing at 15 pounds for the past few years.

Hashtags #dollar, #Egyptian_pound, #middle_class, #thecoming_days and #leaveSisi have been trending on Twitter ever since as popular anger at the devaluation grows.

Experts were quoted by local media as saying that the move would lead to a “new wave of high prices days before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.” It is, they said, “the coming disaster.”

State-controlled media, meanwhile, have urged Egyptian citizens to “bear the consequences” of the new pound flotation.

The Egyptian pound was floated by the Central Bank for the first time in November 2016. The move was made in an attempt to end the black market in currency and revive the country’s struggling economy.

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