CAIRO -- Egypt's Central Bank governor Mahmoud Abu el-Ayoun said on Tuesday the official exchange rate would not be swayed by the black market, where the currency has plunged amid worries about a further devaluation, Ruters reported.

"We won't do jumps. There is mobility (in the foreign exchange system), there is flexibility... should I respond to those guys who work on the black market?" He told a briefing at the Central Bank.

"We are talking about traders who try to distort the market for their own interests," he said.

On Sunday, the Central Bank set the pound's core exchange rate to 4.51 to the dollar from 4.50, which had been set in December when the currency was devalued by 7.8 percent, after a series of devaluations and adjustments since mid-2000.

But it remains far short of the black market rate of around 5.30 to the dollar amid a shortage of hard currency and analysts have called for a more realistic level for the pound to ensure the market remains liquid.