Remittances from Egyptian expats increased by $227.1m y-o-y in July and August to record $4.4bn, compared to $4.2bn in the same period in 2018.
Remittances of Egyptians working abroad are one of Egypt’s most important foreign exchange resources.
Prior to CBE’s decision to float the exchange rate on 3 November 2016, most of these transfers went to the parallel market, as there was a significant difference between the dollar exchange rate in that market and its rate in the official market of banks and exchange companies.
However, after the decision to liberalise the exchange rate, these remittances are fully poured into the official channels, which helped make foreign exchange available in banks and the CBE, which reflected positively on the price of the pound against the dollar.
According to the CBE, remittances from Egyptians working abroad jumped in the 12 months following the flotation decision to about $26.4bn, compared to about $22.3bn in the previous year.
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad retained their high rates during fiscal year (FY) 2017/18 to reach $26.392bn, but they declined slightly during the FY2018/2019, reaching to about $25.15bn by the end of June.
Bank officials attributed the decline to the US dollar’s exchange rate drop against the pound this year, expecting the figure to reach $26bn by the end of the year.
