Is further devaluation nigh? It’s FX auction day in Egypt. The Central Bank of Egypt’s weekly currency auction is today, and traders were cautious yesterday about the prospect of devaluation, trimming an early-morning rally to close the day down 0.15% on heavy turnover. The bourse had advanced 4.7% on Sunday. There having been no regular auction last Tuesday, the CBE’s most recent regular auction was on 28 June, when it accepted bids for USD 117.1 mn at EGP 8.7800. Its last exceptional auction took place on 16 March, when it offered USD 1,205 mn at the same price.

As expected the Importers’ Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce is warning of disaster if there’s further devaluation. Division chief Ahmed Sheeha tells Al Mal that the resulting inflation will outstrip the rate of devaluation, “destabilizing the country and threatening national security.” Sheeha says prices rose 20-150% as a result of the last 14% devaluation, saying any further slippage would spell doom for a market “that imports 80%” of its needs.

Conventional wisdom: Devaluation is happening. Two-thirds of the 77 financial analysts and banking and financial services workers surveyed by the CFA Society Egypt believe that devaluation (and not the apocalypse) is coming, DNE reports.

The EGP weakened on the parallel market yesterday in anticipation, falling to EGP 11.40 to the greenback, according to Al Mal.