Egypt Did not Have Luxury of Postponing Reforms

Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said on Friday the government did not have the luxury of postponing reforms, a day after the currency was devalued and fuel prices were raised.

Egypt floated the pound on Thursday amid a dollar crunch that threatened to grind imports to a halt, causing the pound to fall from 8.8 to the dollar to more than 14 pounds.

The government also announced an increase in fuel prices, with low grade petrol increasing by 50 percent to 2.35 pounds a liter while higher octane fuel rose by about one third to 3.5 pounds per liter.

"We did not have the luxury of postponing" the decisions, Ismail said at a news conference.

Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy said the country was facing a budget deficit of 11 percent this year.

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is rolling out an austerity program and seeking billions in support from abroad in order to meet conditions for a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The country has struggled to boost its foreign currency reserves in the political and economic turmoil that has followed the January 2011 uprising that toppled former ruler Hosni Mubarak.