Egypt’s Foreign Currency Reserves Climb to New Records in May!
By Yasmeen Badawy
The lack of foreign currency has had negative effects on Egypt’s Central Bank and the economy in the past years. However, we can now celebrate the rise of foreign currency reserves in the Central Bank.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) stated in an official statement on Monday that the country’s foreign currency reserves (forex) hit a new record high of 44.138 billion U.S. dollars at the end of May, making an increase of $106 million. The foreign reserve currently covers about 9 months of commodity imports which is a breaking record for Egypt’s economy.
Moreover, the CBE paid $500 million last week to the African Export-Import Bank, ending its $3.7 billion debt owed to the bank. Subir Lall, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission to Egypt, said in a statement a few days ago that Cairo has strong reserves that are strengthening and protecting the economy against any “external shocks”. The ongoing economic reform program in Egypt continues to achieve noticeable results in overall economic stability, development, and decreasing unemployment.
In addition, the negative impact of the global economic situation is relatively non-existent in Egypt in comparison to other countries which have greatly affected by the global economic situation. The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) attributed the lack of influence of the global situation on Egypt’s economy to the success of the authorities in adjusting the financial situation and the level of international reserves, along with the policy framework set by the government, including prudent monetary and fiscal policies.
