Riots in Egypt
As discussed in an earlier post by the Forex Robot team, the people of Tunisia's successful revolt has spread to Egypt and parts of Yemen. The beginning of this popular movement began with a few thousand demonstrators calling for a "Day of Rage". These demonstrations that demanded more freedoms, job opportunity, and equality quickly spread throughout major Egyptian cities, including Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez.
Initially, large numbers of Egyptian police attempted to contain the demonstrations with tear gas, sticks, rubber bullets, and even live fire. However, the people of Egypt were not deterred, as the number of demonstrators began to swell. This historical event has brought Egyptian citizens from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds together in a shared effort to oust long-time "president" and military dictator Hosni Mubarak. After several days of intense demonstrations, rioting and looting is now commonplace. At present, the police have all but disappeared off the streets of Cairo. Marshal law has been declared, and the military had been called up to quell the rioting and enforce the curfew. However, it appears that ranking military officers are dissenting, with no apparent action being taken by the soldiers. Since Egypt is the most populace Arab country, and considered the "capital" of the Arab world, the Forex Robot team is keeping a close eye on unfolding events.
The Forex Robot team salutes the people of Egypt in their effort for regime change and more freedoms. Due to the volatility of these past few days, Forex Robot members were correct in their assessment of the resulting economic consequences of these events. Since this is an oil-rich region, this level of instability has far reaching consequences on crude oil prices and currency valuations. The Egyptian pound has depreciated considerably against other major currencies, including the USD. Presently, the United States dollar is equal to 5.8575 Egyptian pounds. As expected for a country in political turmoil, the Egyptian stock market has reached lows not seen since the financial crisis in 2008.
For Forex Robot readers with a strong risk appetite, you might consider purchasing the Egyptian pound after letting it depreciate it a little more. Additionally, as seen on Friday, the price of oil increased by nearly 5%. With political unrest sweeping the Arab world, speculators could push oil prices to $100 or beyond. In situations like these, every moment counts. Make sure to stay updated with the latest economic and current events news updates at our Robot Forex website.