Foreign Reserves Surge By US$ 300 Mln In May

Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said foreign reserves rose by US$302 million in May, their second successive monthly increase after having fallen every month since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.

Foreign reserves climbed to US$15.52 billion at the end of May from US$15.21 billion at the end of April, CBE said.

Reserves had declined by more than half since Egypt’s political turmoil scared away tourists and investors, two of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Fayza Aboul Naga earlier expected foreign reserves to increase by July as economic recovery began because of the procedures that have been recently taken by the government by rationing imports and expenditures as well as increasing exports. In addition, the government has launched “Beet Al Watan” Project (The Country’s House) and dollar certificates of deposit for Egyptians living abroad.

The following table shows the value of Egypt’s net foreign reserves: