Egyptian pound to weaken, Gulf support for Lebanon

Comments from the Central Bank of Egypt’s governor, Tarek Amer, earlier this week add weight to our view that the authorities will scale back support for the pound. This is likely to result in a modest depreciation over the next couple of years. Meanwhile, Lebanese financial markets have rallied after pledges of support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but we still think that a debt restructuring will be needed to put the public finances on a sustainable footing.