Egypt’s Foreign Reserves Retreat to $15.88bn at November-end

Egypt’s foreign currency reserves dropped to $15.88 billion at the end of November from $16.91 billion a month earlier, the central bank said on Sunday, the first decline in six months.

Foreign reserves fell sharply after the 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak but had risen again on the back of billions of dollars of Gulf Arab aid that has flooded into Egypt since the army overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last year.

In November, Egypt repaid to Qatar a $2.5 billion central bank deposit received under Morsi, which some traders had warned could have an impact on reserve levels.

Reserves stood at about $36 billion before the 2011 revolt.

The values of Egypt’s foreign reserves held by the Central Bank of Egypt during 2014: