Egypt update: Current account deficit narrows

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has released full-year balance of payments data for 2017/18 (July-June). The data shows an ongoing improvement in Egypt’s external position as a surplus of USD 12.8bn over the year led foreign reserves to rise to record levels of USD 44.26bn in June. Notably, the current account deficit declined by 58.6% y/y, and stood at 2.5% of GDP according to our estimates, compared to 6.5% the previous year. In 2018/19 we project that the deficit will narrow further, to 2.0%, aided by declining energy imports and ongoing growth in visitor numbers.

Current account balance, % GDP

Source: Emirates NBD Research

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