The Central Bank of Egypt announced that the balance of payments related to Egypt’s transactions with foreign countries reached a total deficit of about $7.3 billion in the first 9 months of last fiscal year.
The central bank said in a statement today, Thursday, that the total balance of payments deficit for the said period was almost completely fixed during the period (January-March 2022).
The bank said that the Egyptian economy was affected by global economic events, just like other countries in the world. In addition to the increase in the cost of imports in light of rising world prices, foreign investment exited the equity portfolio, which was paid without any delay.
He explained that this resulted in a decrease in net inflows from the capital account and financial transactions.
The bank indicated that the current account deficit for the period July-March 2021-2022 fiscal year did not change compared to the same period last year, as it amounted to $13.6 billion, despite an increase in the commodity trade deficit by $3 billion.
The bank said the increase in the trade deficit is due to an increase in payments for imports of goods (oil and non-oil) by about $14.9 billion compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, which is a reflection of what the world is currently witnessing from unprecedented waves of inflation.
He added that these waves were the result of a recovery in economic activity in sectors that were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the negative effects of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, combined with sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, which contributed to an unprecedented increase in energy prices. and commodities, prompting many countries to move to tighten monetary policy to counter this inflation.
Source: Masravi