Egypt’s foreign reserves rise $100M in August

CAIRO – 6 September 2017: Egypt’s foreign reserves hiked $100 million by the end of August to reach $36.1 billion, up from $36 billion in July, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced Wednesday.

In June, Egypt's foreign reserves jumped by $4.73 billion to $36.04 billion, the central bank said on August 1, recording the highest level since the January 2011 revolution.

Foreign reserves in the CBE have been rising since the Egyptian government clinched a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November, restoring confidence in the Egyptian market.

Reserves were only $19.041 billion at the end of October, just before Egypt floated its local currency in November, the opening salvo of a sweeping IMF-backed economic reform program that also includes loosening capital controls, hiking taxes and slashing subsidies.