Remittances from expatriate Egyptians jumped by 48.2 percent in the first 10 months of the 2017-2018 financial year to around $26 billion compared to the same period last year, the central bank said on Monday.

The central bank said in a statement remittances had risen 41.2 percent to around $2.3 billion in April 2018 from $1.7 billion in April 2017.

Egyptians working abroad send back billions of dollars a year in remittances, an important source of hard currency for a country that has seen tourism, foreign investment, and exports. They have increased since the country floated its pound currency in November 2016 as part of economic reforms tied to a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.