The foreign exchange reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) increased to $31.12bn at the end of May compared to $28.641bn at the end of April, an increase of $2.485bn.
The amount of foreign currency increased from $25.215bn in April to $27.694bn in May, an increase of $2.479bn, according to the CBE. The value of gold in foreign exchange reserves at the CBE meanwhile rose by $7m to reach $2.637bn in May.
The value of special drawing rights—supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets maintained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—listed in the reserve amounted to $764m at the end of May. The value of the IMF loans amounted to about $35m.
Last week, the Ministry of Finance disclosed that the CBE had received $3bn of the new dollar bonds’ proceeds, which were offered on international markets before the end of May.
Mohamed Abdel Aal, a board member at the Suez Canal Bank, said that the increase in foreign exchange reserves at the CBE, even if it resulted from external borrowing and bonds, will have a positive impact on raising the credit rating of Egypt.
He added that raising the country’s credit rating would give it a better chance to borrow from abroad and sell its dollar bonds in international markets at lower cost than domestic borrowing, which would contribute to reducing the domestic debt and the budget deficit.
