Egypt's foreign reserves up 0.12%

Net foreign reserves of the Central Bank of Egypt rose 0.12 per cent on a monthly basis to $44.275 billion by the end of May.

The net foreign reserves rose from $44.218 billion at the end of April, according to a statement issued by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) today.

No details were given about the rise in reserves or where the new funds have arrived from.

The Egyptian government has been putting in place numerous economic measures across various sectors to help revive the country’s battered economy.

In November 2016, the International Monterey Fund (IMF) offered Egypt a $12 billion loan aimed at reviving the country’s struggling economy, bringing down public debt and controlling inflation.

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The government’s deficits have shrunk, its national debt burden has begun to fall and foreign exchange buffers have been rebuilt, as President Al-Sisi’s austerity plan has curtailed public spending.

However, the policies have added to the financial woes of many millions of Egyptians living below the poverty line, who have complained of being unable to afford basic necessities since the price jumps. Inflation has soared after the government floated the Egyptian pound in 2016, and last year, the Treasury announced that it was planning to increase public tax revenues by 131 per cent by 2022.

Earlier, CBE data showed that the country’s external debt rose 16.5 per cent year-on-year to $96.612 billion by the end of 2018.