By Abdel Kader Ramadan

CAIRO, Sep 13 (Aswat Masriya) - The Egyptian pound inched upwards on Sunday in black market trading, while the price was kept unchanged in the official market.

A dealer in a money exchange shop told Aswat Masriya that the dollar sold for between 8.13 and 8.16 Egyptian pounds against the dollar, rising from Thursday's 8.20 pound per dollar rate.

He said the government's resignation has slowed the demand for dollars as investors wait before taking investment decisions.  

On Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and appointed former Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail as his replacement.

In an official auction on Sunday, the central bank sold $37.8 million at a cut-off price of 7.73. The bank has kept this price unchanged since it allowed it to depreciate in July.   

This comes after statements made last week by Investment Minister Ashraf Salman who said the "depreciation of the Egyptian pound is no longer a matter of choice under the current local and international economic circumstances."  

Ali al-Hariri, the secretary general of the foreign exchange division at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce told Aswat Masriya that the minister's statements drove dealers to refrain from selling dollars in anticipation of further price hikes.

He added that the dollar supply is currently very low.

A dealer told Aswat Masriya that panic ensued after the minister's statements as some people withdrew their savings to change them for dollars, to protect their value, should the pound depreciate further.