What would a weaker Egyptian pound mean in a year of global recession?
By Erin Cunningham With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicting both a global recession in 2009 and the first year of negative growth for developed nations since World War II, Egypt is emerging as something of an anomaly in a world of otherwise ailing economies. Maintaining a growth rate of 7.2% for FY2007-08, high rates of foreign direct investment (FDI) and a healthy export sector, the Egyptian economy was recently lauded by Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid as “oxygen” for global markets. The government has made clear economic growth, at a target rate of between 6% and 7% in 2009, is its first economic priority. But as the country’s primary trading partners slip into recession, government officials have hinted in the past several weeks that sustaining this current level may literally have to come at a high price. After the Egyptian pound recently fell 5% against the US dollar — while at the same time slightly appreciating against both the British pound an
