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Egyptian Pound Stable After Devaluation, IMF Deal 

A deliveryman balances a tray of freshly baked bread while riding his bicycle along the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on March 6, 2024. (AFP)
A deliveryman balances a tray of freshly baked bread while riding his bicycle along the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on March 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Egyptian Pound Stable After Devaluation, IMF Deal 

A deliveryman balances a tray of freshly baked bread while riding his bicycle along the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on March 6, 2024. (AFP)
A deliveryman balances a tray of freshly baked bread while riding his bicycle along the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on March 6, 2024. (AFP)

Egypt's currency was stable at around 49.5 pounds to the dollar as the market opened on Thursday, a day after the central bank let the currency plunge and pledged to shift to a more flexible exchange rate system as the country secured an expanded $8 billion program with the International Monetary Fund.

The pound stayed in the same range it had settled at near closing on Wednesday, LSEG data showed. Before Wednesday's devaluation and a steep interest rate hike, the central bank had held the currency for about a year at just under 31 pounds to the dollar.

A more flexible exchange rate, long a key demand from the IMF, is seen as crucial for restoring investor confidence in an economy that has been hobbled for the last two years by a foreign currency shortage.

Egypt has promised such a move in the past, only to resume holding the currency at a fixed rate.

The central bank says sufficient funding has been secured to ensure foreign exchange liquidity. Its governor told reporters on Wednesday that it would still have the ability to intervene, as in other countries, in the case of "illogical movements".

The IMF, which agreed to add $5 billion to its existing $3 billion loan program with Egypt, has said it is looking for a sustainable, unified, and market determined exchange rate.

Under the program, Egypt has committed to undertake structural reforms to stabilize prices, manage the debt burden and encourage private-sector growth.

The pound's de-facto devaluation and the agreement with the IMF come two weeks after Egypt signed a deal with Emirati sovereign fund ADQ that it said will bring $35 billion of investments over two months, including the conversion of $11 billion in existing deposits.

The foreign currency shortage has curbed local business activity and led to backlogs at ports and delays in commodity payments.

Remittances from Egyptians working abroad, the country's top single source of foreign currency, slowed sharply last year amid expectations that the pound would fall.

Since early 2022, when the foreign currency shortage worsened, the pound has now lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar in a series of staggered devaluations.

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Business

Hapag-Lloyd Says US Plans to Block Hormuz Difficult to Assess

(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)
(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)
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Hapag-Lloyd Says US Plans to Block Hormuz Difficult to Assess

(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)
(FILES) A Hapag Lloyd container ship is seen in Rotterdam's harbour on August 1, 2022. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday that it is difficult to assess what effect US President Donald Trump's plans to block the Strait of Hormuz would have on shipping.

"What's important is that passage through the Strait of Hormuz be restored as soon as possible," said a company spokesperson in an emailed statement.

From Hapag-Lloyd's view, as long as there are mines, passage is not possible, and in addition, insurance for passage is also difficult to obtain at this time, added the spokesperson.

Business

UN: Iran War Could Plunge 32 million into Poverty

People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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UN: Iran War Could Plunge 32 million into Poverty

People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

More than 32 million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Iran war, with developing countries expected to be hit hardest, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) warned.

In a report issued amid doubts over a fragile ceasefire, the UNDP said the world is facing a “triple shock” involving energy, food and weaker economic growth.

The agency said the conflict is reversing gains in international development, with the impact expected to be felt unevenly across regions.

Alexander De Croo, UNDP administrator and former prime minister of Belgium, said: “A conflict like this is development in reverse. Even if the war stops, and a ceasefire is very welcome, the impact is already there.”

“You will see an enduring impact, especially in poorer countries, where people are being pushed back into poverty. This is the most painful aspect. The people being pushed into poverty are very often the same people who were in poverty, escaped it, and are now being pushed back.”

Energy prices surged sharply during the six weeks of the Iran war after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked global oil and gas supplies. With knock-on effects on fertilizer supplies and global shipping, experts warn of a “time bomb” threatening food security in the developing world.

The head of the International Monetary Fund said the war’s “devastating effects” have caused lasting damage to the global economy, even if the conflict ends.

Publishing its report alongside meetings of world leaders in Washington for the IMF Spring Meetings, the UNDP said a global response is required to support countries hardest hit by the economic fallout.

It said targeted and temporary cash transfers are needed to protect the most vulnerable households in developing countries, at a cost of about $6 billion to mitigate the shocks for those living below the poverty line.

De Croo said international agencies and development banks could provide financial support. “There is a positive economic return from short-term cash transfers to avoid people being pushed back into poverty,” he said. Alternative measures could include temporary subsidies or vouchers for electricity or cooking gas.

Setting out three scenarios for the war, the UNDP found that in the worst case – involving six weeks of major disruption to oil and gas production and eight months of sustained higher costs – up to 32.5 million people globally would fall into poverty.

The report used the upper-middle-income poverty line defined by the World Bank, set at less than $8.30 per person per day.

The UNDP said that while richer countries are in a stronger position to cushion the economic fallout, countries in the global south face weaker conditions and already severe financial constraints.

This comes as western governments, including the US, Germany, France and the UK, cut aid spending amid rising borrowing and debt levels in advanced economies and calls to increase defense spending.

Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published last week showed that countries in its Development Assistance Committee cut aid spending to $174.3 billion in 2025, nearly a quarter lower than in 2024.

Business

EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
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EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

The European Union's member states must coordinate on energy prices amid a 22 billion euro ($25.70 billion) increase in fossil fuel bills since the start of the Iran war, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

"We're also looking into ... coordination of member states' gas storage filling to avoid that many member states go to the market at the same time," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.

"And we will coordinate oil stock releases, to achieve the largest possible effect, and we will ensure that member states' emergency measures will not impact the single market."

The EU Commission is planning to publish proposals for energy price measures on April 22, to be discussed by EU leaders at their informal summit next week, according to Reuters.

Separately the EU's executive arm will present an electrification strategy before the summer, von der Leyen said as she stressed the need for structural measures to lower energy prices as well.

"We are paying a very high price for our global dependency on fossil fuels, and the grim reality for our continent is fossil fuel energy will remain the most expensive option in the years to come," von der Leyen said.

"Our strategy to decarbonize has not only been confirmed in the last years, but is growing in importance day by day," she added.