The Egyptian Central Bank said on Monday that the deficit in the balance of the current transactions in Egypt increased to $ 11.1 billion in the period from July 2024 to December 2024 compared to 9.6 billion dollars in the same period of the previous year.
The bank attributed the breadth of the deficit to the increase in the trade balance deficit, which jumped 47.4% to 27.5 billion dollars.
The bank added that the Suez Canal revenues decreased 62.3% to $ 1.8 billion in the mentioned period from 4.8 billion dollars in the previous year.
The returns of the channel -which is a vital source of foreign currency in Egypt -were severely affected by the Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis said to support the Palestinians in Gaza.
Egypt’s exports of oil fell to a record level of $ 3 billion from 3.2 billion dollars in the previous year, mainly due to the decline in exports of natural gas and crude oil, while natural gas imports rose 2.1 billion dollars.
Egypt returns to import gas
The country returned to the import of the importer of natural gas, as it bought dozens of shipments and abandoned its plans to become a resource for Europe after the sharp decline in local production.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s revenues from tourism amounted to $ 8.7 billion in the first half of this year, compared to $ 7.8 billion in the previous year.
According to data to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the country witnessed a recovery in the tourism sector after the Kofid-19 and the number of tourists reached a record level of 15.7 million tourists in 2024.
The remittances of Egyptians working abroad, another major source of foreign exchange flows 80.7% to $ 17.1 billion.
The central bank added that foreign direct investment has risen to 6 billion dollars from 5.5 billion dollars in the previous year.
The Egyptian fiscal year will end on June 30.
