CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s current account turned a surplus for the first time in years in the October-to-December quarter as imports dropped and exports rose, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
Egypt imposed import restrictions during most of 2022 and continues to suffer an acute shortage of foreign currency.
The current account registered a surplus of $1.41 billion dollars compared to deficits of $3.19 billion in July to September and $3.8 billion in Oct-Dec 2021.
Imports fell to $17.99 billion from $19.07 billion in July-September and $22.48 billion a year earlier, while exports rose to $11.54 billion from $9.97 billion in July-September. Exports in October-December in 2021 were $11.83 billion.
Tourism and Suez Canal revenue also rose during the quarter from the previous year.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Alaa Swilam; Writing by Patrick Werr; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
