The BoP’s deficit was primarily driven by a sharp increase in the current account deficit, which surged to $5.9 billion from $2.8 billion in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Annually, remittance inflows jumped by 45.3% in the first ten months of 2024, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El-Khatib revealed last week, reaching $23.7 billion, up from $16.3 billion during the same period in 2023.
Despite some positive developments in Egypt's foreign currency inflows, Fitch Solutions has pointed out ongoing challenges to the country's trade deficit, particularly related to declining revenues from the Suez Canal.
In its report today, the ministry stated that spending on wages and employee compensation rose by 22.4%, reaching EGP 197.1 billion over four months, compared to EGP 160.9 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The largest surge of inflows, approximately $40.5 billion, was recorded in the second half of the fiscal year, mainly due to the execution of the Ras El Hekma agreement valued at $35 billion
