Egypt's external debt hits lowest at $153.86bln end-May

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Egypt's external debt has seen its biggest drop in history, decreasing by over $14.17 billion from $168.03 billion in December 2023 to $153.86 billion at the end of May, as per an emailed press release to Arab Finance.

Egypt's net foreign reserves hit a record high of $46.38 billion in June 2024, rising by $13.26 billion since August 2022.

These reserves now cover nearly 7.9 months of the country's merchandize imports, well above international safety standards.

A significant increase in foreign exchange coming into the local market, including remittances from Egyptians abroad more than doubling since the exchange rate was unified.

This influx helped turn the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) foreign assets deficit of $11.4 billion in January 2024 into a surplus of $10.3 billion by June 2024.

Meanwhile, banks' net foreign assets improved to $4.6 billion in May 2024, up from a negative $17.6 billion a year earlier.