Dollar flows exceed $57B since flotation: Deputy CBE’s Governor

CAORO – 22 November 2017: Dollar flows to Egyptian banks jumped to little more than $57 billion since the pound flotation, Deputy Governor of Egypt’s Central Bank Gamal Negm told Egypt Today on Wednesday.

The $57 billion includes dollars banks directly received from clients in addition to remittances.

Moreover, Egypt’s foreign reserves increased by $160 million. These reserves registered $36.7 billion at the end of October 2017 comparing to $36.5 billion in September.

The dollar reserves are sufficient to nearly 7 months of Egypt’s Commodity imports, thus higher than the three months’ international average, which secures a country’s need of strategic commodities.

Foreign reserves in the CBE have been rising since the Egyptian government clinched a $12 billion 3 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 2016, just before Egypt floated its local currency in November, which was a milestone in the IMF-backed economic reform program that also included loosening capital controls, hiking taxes and slashing subsidies.