Loans Help Egypt FX Reserves Climb $441 Mln In October

Egypt’s foreign reserves rose by $441 million in October after loans from Qatar and Turkey helped shore up state funds weakened by almost two years of political turmoil.

Net international reserves climbed to $15.48 billion at the end of October from $15.04 billion at the end of September, the central bank said on its website on Monday.

Reserves have plunged by more than half since the popular uprising that began in January 2011 scared away tourists and investors, two of the country’s main sources of foreign currency.

Egypt in October received $500 million from Qatar and another $500 million from Turkey, state-run al-Gomhuria newspaper said on Monday quoting an unnamed central bank official.

It was the second such payment from Qatar, which has promised to deposit a total $2 billion with Egypt’s central bank by the end of the year.

Egypt drew $600 million from reserves during the month to pay for petroleum imports and $100 million to repay foreign loans, the newspaper quoted the official as saying.

Reuters