Egypt may approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within days to seal a USD12bn loan deal, Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer announced in a press conference on Thursday, hours after the decision to float the EGP was taken. “We must finish the issue of the IMF because it is a vote of confidence for us,” Amer said. “Within the coming few days, we’ll be able to approach the fund, and there aren’t any hanging issues between us and the fund.” Amer said that the measures aim at restoring investor confidence by ending a black market for dollars. “This is a historic phase,” he said. “For the first time we’re facing the issue bravely; we’re acknowledging that the foreign currency should be traded in the market.” Amer emphasised that the decision is final, but that the CBE could intervene to control prices. Inflation had likely peaked and would ease as pressure on the EGP had faded and the CBE had provided USD1.2bn to banks to secure supplies of essential foods last month as part of efforts to protect the poorest from the impact of a devaluation, he added. The country has secured USD16.3bn in pledges from G7 countries, China and Arab allies to finance the budget gap in the current fiscal year and the CBE expects foreign currency reserves to grow by USD6bn by year-end to reach cUSD25bn, according to Amer. (Bloomberg, Reuters)