Good afternoon, friends, and happy almost-weekend. At home, we’re celebrating a narrowing financing gap — and manifesting a long weekend next week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

Financing gap narrows by half in current fiscal year: The IMF sees Egypt facing a financing gap of USD 5.8 bn in FY 2025-26, compared to USD 11.4 bn in FY 2024-25, excluding disbursals from the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the IMF said in its country staff report (pdf) for the fourth review of our USD 8 bn loan program.

The government has secured financing commitments for the next 12 months from international partners, aiming to completely close the country’s financing gap, according to the report. This includes financing related to the sale of development rights or real estate, the IMF noted. Arab countries also are expected to keep their deposits worth USD 18.3 bn at the Central Bank of Egypt until the end of our EFF arrangement in October 2026, unless they are used for the purchase of equities, according to the report.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s another day with a mixed bag of headlines in the international press, but the common thread among most is Trump’s ongoing global tariff war. Among the stories getting top billing:

The Trump administration raised USD 47 bn in additional customs revenues in 2Q 2025, after US trade partners broadly refrained from retaliating against the US president’s tariffs, according to the Financial Times. Most countries have opted for negotiations in fear of facing even higher tariffs, which already reached their highest levels since the 1930s.

For Indonesia, negotiations proved the better path: The US reached a new trade agreement with Indonesia, Trump announced yesterday, following negotiations described by Jakarta as an “extraordinary struggle,” according to CNN. The agreement will see the US impose a 19% tariff on exports from the country, a decrease from the initial 32% threatened by the US president.

MEANWHILE- UK inflation accelerated to 3.6% in June 2025, up from 3.4% in May — the highest since January 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics. The jump was mainly fueled by both fuel and food price inflation. Despite the rise, the Bank of England remains optimistic about cutting interest rates, which currently remain much higher than the bank’s target rate of 2%. (BBC | The Guardian)

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We hope you’ve acquainted yourself with the heat, because tomorrow temperatures in Cairo are set to peak at 39°C, before cooling down to 25°C. It’s a cooler story up north, with temperatures reaching a high of just 29°C and a low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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