CAIRO, Jul 7 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's central bank kept the Egyptian pound unchanged at 7.73 pounds to the dollar on Tuesday's foreign exchange auction, after depreciating it twice in less than a week.

The pound has dipped by 20 piastres since Thursday, when it weakened to 7.63 pounds to the dollar, against 7.53 pounds. The central bank depreciated it again on Sunday's state auction, standing at 7.73 pounds to the dollar.

The bank sold $40 million at Tuesday's auction, reported the state news agency MENA.

Meanwhile in banks, the pound stayed at 7.83 against the dollar.

The central bank allowed banks to trade dollars up to 10 piastres more or less than the official rate in January.

The pound however weakened on the parallel market, Reuters reported, reaching up to 8 pounds to the dollar, according to one currency trader. Another trader sold it at 7.94 pounds to the dollar.

The pound's depreciation is not "concerning", Central Bank Governor Hisham Ramez said on Monday.

Two investment bank analysts told Aswat Masriya on Thursday that the drop was an expected measure, given that the pound trades at a higher price than its fair value at a time when Egypt is trying to attract dollar inflows. 

On January 18, the central bank allowed the Egyptian pound to weaken in front of the U.S. dollar for the first time in six months.

It said the step was taken to eliminate the unofficial currency market, known as the black market.

In a second blow to the parallel market, the central bank capped on February 5 the amount of dollars that can be deposited in banks.