By Reuters
CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank said on Sunday the country’s balance of payments swung into a deficit of $8.0 billion in the last half of 2011 from a year earlier surplus of $571.7 million.
Egypt’s economy was hammered by last year’s popular uprising, which scared away tourists and investors and triggered a series of worker strikes.
The country’s current account deficit for the six months widened to $4.1 billion from a year-earlier deficit of $2.6 billion.
Foreign direct investment dropped to a negative $418.1 million from a positive $2.3 billion a year earlier, the central bank said.
