El Sisi warns of “tough,” “harsh” economic measures coming, hints at devaluation: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi warned that measures needed to improve the economy as Egypt negotiates a USD 12 bn International Monetary Fund loan won’t be a cakewalk, Al Borsa reports.“The problem is whether public opinion is prepared to accept the measures, which could be tough or harsh,” he said in a speech to a youth leadership conference yesterday. Government sources tell Al Shorouk that the Interior Ministry is preparing to hit the streets in the event that the measures spark protests.

We will also “very soon” be able to buy USD at a “unified rate,” El Sisi said. “Everyone storing USD will rush to banks tomorrow to sell them,” Amwal Al Ghad quotes the president as saying. “In all honesty the USD in the past five years has become a commodity in Egypt. The government needs to make decisions that will end the commodification of the USD,” Reuters quotes him as saying. Egyptian should expect “good news” in the “next few days” on the USD front, he added.

El Sisi’s comments caused peptic ulcers among currency speculators, with traders telling Reuters they’ve only been making small transactions at EGP 12.30-12.70 to the USD. “Buying and selling is limited and Sisi’s remarks will create apprehension," said one trader. This comes as the CBE ordered 10 more FX bureaus shuttered for one year on Monday on allegations of speculative trading on the parallel market, Al Masry Al Youm reports. This would bring the number of shuttered exchanges to 33, from the 115 licenced to operate (previously reported figures appear to have been number of branches closed, not the number of license holders shut down).

Play ball, or have the bat… The FX bureau division of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce issued a statement supporting the CBE’s move.

Watch the president’s speech in full (run time: 28:10).