CAIRO, March 22 (Reuters) - Egypt’s central bank kept the pound stable at 8.78 per dollar at its regular foreign currency auction on Tuesday but sold $104.5 million after offering $120 million at the auction, data from the central bank showed.

The auction was the first regular auction since the central bank consolidated its foreign currency auctions that were previously held three times a week, bringing the amount offered during Tuesday’s auction to $120 million.

Egypt, which relies heavily on imports, has been facing a dollar shortage since a popular uprising in 2011 drove away tourists and foreign investors, both major sources of hard currency. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)