For the third month in a row, Egypt’s net foreign reserves have witnessed an increase, despite paying off $1.5 billion of foreign debt, a banking source with knowledge said on Wednesday.
“For several decades, Egypt has proven its commitment to paying off its foreign debts. The country has never missed a payment to its creditors,” added the source.
“The size of external debt is still at safe levels, as the debt-to-GDP ratio is at around 34.1 percent, while the maximum risky limit amounts to around 50 percent. The Egyptian banking sector has managed to secure dollar liquidity worth more than $5.3 billion from November until mid-December,” the source noted.
In November, Egypt’s net foreign reserves reached $33.523 billion, from $33.411 billion at the end of October, marking an increase of $121 million and thereby witnessing a successive growth of $390.4 million during the last three months and reached highest level since June 2022.
Out of the $33.523 billion, Egypt’s gold reserves, a major component of foreign cash reserves, also rose to $7,078 billion at the end of November from $6,612 billion at the end of October. In addition, foreign currencies listed in the country’s foreign reserves reached $26.444 at the end of November.
The country’s dollar-dominated resources are surging. This was evident through its exports which grew 53.1 percent to $43.9 billion during the financial year that ended in June 2022. In addition, the foreign direct investment inflows surged to around $9 billion. Furthermore, Egypt’s tourism revenues rose 121.1 percent to $10.7 billion, while its revenues from the Suez Canal reached $7 billion in 2021/2022.
