Central Bank sells $104.5m at regular FX auction on Tuesday

16:47 - 22 March 2016

People and vehicles are seen caught in a traffic jam in front of the Central Bank of Egypt's headquarters in downtown Cairo, Egypt, December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The auction was the first regular auction since the Central Bank consolidated its foreign currency auctions that were previously held three times a week.

Egypt's Central Bank kept the pound stable at 8.78 per dollar at its regular foreign currency auction on Tuesday.

However, it sold 104.5 million dollars after offering 120 million dollars at the auction, data from the Central Bank showed.

It brought the amount offered during Tuesday's auction to 120 million dollars.

Egypt, which relies heavily on imports, has been facing a dollar shortage since a popular uprising in 2011 drove away tourists and foreign investors, both major sources of hard currency.