Egypt's Pound Weakens to New Low of 30/USD 

People buy fruits and vegetables in Cairo, Egypt, 10 January 2023. (EPA)
People buy fruits and vegetables in Cairo, Egypt, 10 January 2023. (EPA)
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Egypt's Pound Weakens to New Low of 30/USD 

People buy fruits and vegetables in Cairo, Egypt, 10 January 2023. (EPA)
People buy fruits and vegetables in Cairo, Egypt, 10 January 2023. (EPA)

Egypt's pound weakened on Wednesday to a new low of 30 against the US dollar after fluctuating in morning trading, Refinitiv data showed. 

Egypt committed to a flexible currency, a greater role for the private sector and a range of monetary and fiscal reforms when it agreed to a $3 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund, according to an IMF staff report released on Tuesday. 

The country was already under financial pressure before the war in Ukraine hurt tourism revenues and raised commodity import bills. 

Egyptian annual urban consumer inflation in December rose to 21.3%, the highest since the end of 2017, exceeding analyst expectations, data from the statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Tuesday.  



Saudi Arabia's Liquidity Hits All-Time High of SAR2.825 Trillion

Saudi Arabia's Liquidity Hits All-Time High of SAR2.825 Trillion
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Saudi Arabia's Liquidity Hits All-Time High of SAR2.825 Trillion

Saudi Arabia's Liquidity Hits All-Time High of SAR2.825 Trillion

Saudi Arabia's liquidity levels continued to grow strongly, reaching SAR2,825,715 million at the end of May 2024, marking an annual growth of approximately 8.6%, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.

This represented an increase of more than SAR222,928 billion compared to the same period in 2023, which stood at SAR2,602,786 million. These levels reflect the broad money supply (M3) as reported in the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)'s monthly statistical bulletin for May 2024.

Since the beginning of the year, liquidity has grown by 4%, representing an increase of more than SAR104,757 billion. At the end of January, it stood at SAR2,720,957 million.

Liquidity levels also achieved a monthly growth of approximately 1.2%, with an increase of about SAR32,402 billion compared to the end of April of the same year when it stood at SAR2,793,313 million.

These liquidity levels strongly support economic and commercial activity, contributing effectively to the economic development process and enabling the achievement of the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. This reflects the strength and solidity of the banking and financial sector.

A breakdown of the four components of the broad money supply (M3) is as follows: Demand deposits, the largest contributor to the total money supply (M3) at 49.2%, recorded a level of SAR1,390,893 million at the end of May 2024.

Time and savings deposits, the second-largest contributor to the total money supply (M3) at 31.5%, recorded a level of SAR889,558 million.

Other quasi-money deposits amounted to SAR314,807 million, representing a contribution of approximately 11.1% to the total money supply (M3), making it the third-largest contributor. Lastly, "currency in circulation outside banks" amounted to SAR230,456 million, contributing approximately 8.2% to the total money supply (M3).

Quasi-money deposits consist of residents' deposits in foreign currencies, deposits against letters of credit, outstanding transfers, and repurchase agreements (repos) conducted by banks with the private sector.

Domestic liquidity includes M1, which comprises currency in circulation outside banks in addition to demand deposits only, and M2, which includes M1 plus time and savings deposits. The broad definition, M3, includes M2 plus other quasi-money deposits.