Reserves barely inch up in July

FX reserves increase marginally in July: Egypt’s foreign currency reserves inched up to USD 40.61 bn in July from USD 40.58 bn in June, according to official figures released by the Central Bank of Egypt today. FX reserves rose by almost USD 116 mn in June.

Reserves are still about USD 5 bn short of where they were prior to covid: The country’s stockpile fell by almost USD 10 bn from the USD 45.5 bn peak in February 2020 due to the covid-induced sell-off of emerging-market assets, and the lockdown of the economy in the second quarter.