Egypt's external debts shrink by USD 14 bln -- central bank

CAIRO, July 22 (KUNA) -- The Egyptian central bank announced on Monday that the nation's external debts dropped to USD 153.86 billion falling by USD 14.17 billion since five months ago (8.43 percent).

The central bank said in a statement carried by the official Middle East News Agency that the external debts, at the end of May, reached USD 153.86 billion, vis a vis USD 168 billion in the end of December 2023 -- the steepest fall in the nation's debts record.
The net of foreign reserves at the central bank posted the highest growth, hitting USD 46.38 billion in June, rising by USD 13.26 billion in contrast to what had been achieved in August 2022, simultaneously with the foreign debt fall.
The current reserve assets at the central bank can cover up to 7-9 months of the import value and easily meet the related financial liabilities.
Moreover, it revealed an abundant inflow of foreign currencies into the domestic market, with a 200 percent rise, while remittances of Egyptians living abroad rose as compared to the levels that had existed before unifying the exchange rate -- by 100 percent.
The rise of the foreign currencies inflow contributed to tackling the deficit in the foreign assets at the central bank, with a surplus amounting to USD 10.3 billion in June 2024, compared to USD to a deficit of USD 11.4 billion in January 2024, in addition to the improvement of the net foreign assets, recording USD 4.6 billion in May 2024 against a negative of USD 17.6 billion in the same month of the past year.
The central bank statement attributed the improvement to the "bold and successful decisions" that had been taken by the relevant authorities regarding the monetary policy since August 2022, stemming inflation, slowing down its pace to the 27.5 percent level, as recorded in June 2024, the lowest level since February 2023 -- thus contributing to the stabilization of prices, bolstering confidence in the national currency and the business environment.
As to the external indices, the central bank affirmed that there has been improvement in the proceeds on the USD bonds, January 2027, indicating that the pattern fell by 22.86 percent in October 2023 reaching 9.2 percent in June 2024 -- with a 13 percent difference. (end) mm.rk.