Ebeid: No decisions or administrative measures to fix exchange market

Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Ebeid said that the government will not interfere in the exchange market in order to avoid causing a turbulence.

Addressing the Parliamentary Economic Committee late Sunday Ebeid said that the current situation in the exchange market is no worrying at all as the government has acted swiftly after the September 11 attacks to heal the gap between the supply and demand in the money market which ranged between 1500 and 170 million dollars within a year.

"Egyptian international and Arab ties helped to crown th government moves to narrow the gap between supply and demand with success," said Ebeid.

He added that Egypt obtained about $ 700 million, 150 of which from an Arab country, and suspending government purchases except the basic ones, for six months.

"This will narrow the gap to about $ 500 million which is not quite big in a market of an annual $ 20 billion a year," the Prime Minister said.

He denied using foreign reserves in dealing with the gap and underlined that they are sufficient to cover imports for 12 months.