Egypt’s net foreign assets grow by $2 billion in December

Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFAs) improved by 47.28 billion Egyptian pounds in December, marking a second month increase after its currency depreciates sharply in October, Egypt’s Central Bank (CBE) data showed on Tuesday.

NFAs improved of about $2.06 billion using end-of-month central bank exchange rates, to reach a negative 494.3 billion Egyptian pounds from a negative 541.5 billion in November.

In October, CBE had been relying on NFAs, which represent banking system assets owed by non-residents minus liabilities, to help support the currency. NFAs include foreign assets held by the central bank.

The pound has fallen by nearly 50 percent since the invasion to about 30 to the dollar after the crisis caused tourism to fall, commodity import prices to rise and foreign investors to pull more than $20 billion out of Egyptian treasury markets.