{"id":607643,"date":"2023-10-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/10\/08\/current-account-surplus-in-4q-as-imports-fall-tourism-revenues-rise\/"},"modified":"2023-10-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T00:00:00","slug":"current-account-surplus-in-4q-as-imports-fall-tourism-revenues-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/10\/08\/current-account-surplus-in-4q-as-imports-fall-tourism-revenues-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Current account surplus in 4Q as imports fall, tourism revenues rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egypt generated a current account surplus in 4Q 2022-23 <\/strong>on the back of falling imports and rising tourism and Suez Canal revenues, according to Enterprise calculations of central bank figures (pdf)<\/a> released last week. The current account turned to a USD 560 mn surplus during the April-June quarter, compared to a USD 3.0 bn deficit in 4Q 2021-22 and a USD 3.5 bn deficit in the previous quarter.<\/p>\n

For the year: <\/strong>The current account deficit for the entire fiscal year narrowed more than 70% to USD 4.7 bn from USD 16.6 bn in FY 2021-22 aided by the import squeeze and record tourism and Suez Canal revenues.<\/p>\n

Surpluses are still a bit of a rarity for us: <\/strong>This year\u2019s Q4 current account figures are only the second time we\u2019ve achieved a quarterly surplus since 2014. The other instance was in 2Q of this year when we managed to achieve a USD 1.4 bn surplus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what happened: <\/strong><\/p>\n

#1- Imports continued to decline: <\/strong>Imports declined for the fifth consecutive quarter to hit their lowest level since the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as the FX shortage continued to make life difficult for importers. Imports fell 25% to USD 16.2 bn from USD 21.3 bn in 4Q 2021-22, primarily due to the non-oil sector. This resulted in the trade deficit narrowing to USD 7.6 bn from USD 9.9 bn a year ago.<\/p>\n

#2- The tourism boom: <\/strong>Tourism revenues rose more than 30% y-o-y to USD 3.3 bn in 4Q. Across the year, tourism revenues jumped 27% to hit a record USD 13.6 bn, up from USD 10.7 bn in the fiscal year prior.<\/p>\n

#3- Suez Canal receipts contributed: <\/strong>Suez Canal revenues rose by a third y-o-y to USD 2.5 bn during the quarter. For the year, the canal\u2019s revenues jumped 25% to hit a record USD 8.8 bn from USD 7.0 bn t5he year before.<\/p>\n

On a less positive note: <\/strong><\/p>\n