<figure id="attachment_3299853" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3299853" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3299853" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/10569405-Abdel-Fattah-al-Sisi.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3299853" class="wp-caption-text">Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week said that the country was in a &#8216;state of near-emergency&#8217;, warning of renewed inflationary pressures. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
CAIRO: Egypt&#8217;s currency fell to a record low, trading at over 52 to the US dollar on Sunday, as the economic fallout of the war in the Middle East hits the region&#8217;s most populous country.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has expanded across the Gulf and beyond, upending global energy markets and trade, and virtually halting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world&#8217;s crude oil travels.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week warned that the country was in a &#8220;state of near-emergency&#8221;, warning of renewed inflationary pressures.
Despite Egypt not having been directly hit by the war, the fighting has nonetheless pushed some shipping companies away from its Suez Canal, a key source of foreign currency.
Egypt&#8217;s import-dependent economy has proved highly sensitive to currency fluctuations in the past.
Inflation &#8212; 11.9% in January &#8212; peaked at nearly 40% in August 2023, on the back of a punishing economic crisis that has since eased, thanks in part to an over US$50 billion bailout, mainly from the UAE.

MatchPoint Times

Egyptian pound hits record low as Mideast war roils markets

Egypt’s import-dependent economy has proven highly sensitive to currency fluctuations.

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