The central bank said the current account deficit narrowed by 13.6% to $9.5 billion, compared with $10.9 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Egypt’s balance of payments showed a marked improvement in the first half of fiscal year 2025/2026, supported by stronger remittances from Egyptians working abroad, higher tourism and Suez Canal revenues, and increased foreign direct investment inflows, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt.
The central bank said the current account deficit narrowed by 13.6% to $9.5 billion, compared with $10.9 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
It attributed the improvement to a 28.4% rise in net current transfers and a 20.6% increase in the services surplus, which reached $8.9 billion.
Remittances from Egyptians abroad rose by 29.6% to $22.1 billion, up from $17.1 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Tourism revenues increased by 17.3% to $10.2 billion, compared with $8.7 billion a year earlier.
Suez Canal revenues also rose by 19% to $2.2 billion, up from $1.8 billion in the same period last year.
Net foreign direct investment inflows climbed to $9.3 billion, compared with $6 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The central bank said the increase in FDI was driven by $6.1 billion in inflows tied to the establishment of new companies and capital increases in existing firms, the execution of the Alam El Roum deal worth $3.5 billion during October-December 2025, and a rise in non-resident real estate investments to $1 billion.
Portfolio investments recorded net inflows of $5 billion, compared with net outflows of $3.2 billion in the same period a year earlier.
However, the current account remained under pressure from a wider petroleum trade deficit, which increased to $8.9 billion from $6.7 billion, driven by higher petroleum imports that reached $11.6 billion.
The non-petroleum trade deficit also widened to $22.8 billion, compared with $20.8 billion, as non-oil merchandise imports rose to $41.1 billion, despite exports increasing to $18.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the investment income deficit rose by 8% to $8.6 billion. Foreign assets held by banks increased by around $9.7 billion, while reliance on external borrowing declined, with net repayments recorded for medium- and long-term loans and facilities.
Despite the improvement in several external indicators, the overall balance of payments recorded a deficit of $2.1 billion during the period, compared with a deficit of $502.6 million in the corresponding period last year.
