Egypt recorded the highest foreign reserves in its history at $42.524bn at the end of February from $38.209bn at the end of January 2018, an increase of $4.314bn, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said on Sunday.
Egypt received the yields of its recent eurobond issuance, which was in February, amounting to $4bn, and were deposited at the CBE to support the country’s foreign currency reserves.
The CBE paid the government the equivalent of the yields in Egyptian pound to finance the general budget.
Egypt sold $4bn worth dollar-denominated eurobonds, which were divided into five-year bonds worth $1.25bn with a 5.58% return, 10-year bonds worth $1.25bn with a 6.59% return and 30-year bonds worth $1.5bn with a 7.9% return.
This level of reserves can cover nine months of commodity imports, which is higher than the world average of about three months.
Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves jumped by more than $23bn since the CBE’s decision to float the local currency in November 2016. The foreign reserves in October 2016 stood at about $19bn.
