Egypt’s foreign reserves rose to $16.445 billion at end-December

Egypt’s foreign currency reserves rose by US$23 million to record US$16.445 billion dollars at the end of December from $16.422 billion the previous month, the central bank announced early Tuesday.

Egypt’s foreign reserves stood at about $36 billion before the 2011 revolt but have dwindled since the uprising scared off tourists and foreign investors, which represent key sources of foreign exchange.

Bankers had been watching out for a dip in reserves after the central bank pumped additional dollar liquidity into the banking sector in recent weeks to ease a forex crisis.

The values of Egypt’s foreign reserves held by the Central Bank of Egypt during 2015: