Cairo – Mubasher: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced the preliminary data of Egypt’s balance of payment for the first half of fiscal year 2018/2019.
Egyptian commodity exports jumped by 18.4% to $14.3 billion in H1-18/19, versus $12.1 billion in the prior-year period, which has limited the trade deficit growth, data by the CBE showed.
Payments of petroleum imports fell by 2.1% year-on-year to $5.8 billion as Egypt has achieved gas self-sufficiency, in addition to the decline in crude oil imports, the CBE added.
Oil surplus amounted to $150.8 million in H1-18/19, against a deficit of around $2.2 billion, according to data.
Surplus of the services balance rose by 36.7% year-on-year to $7.3 billion, versus $5.3 billion.
Moreover, the Suez Canal passage fees increased by 5.8%, recording around $2.9 billion, versus $2.8 billion in H1-17/18.
The CBE revealed that the balance of payment surplus stood at $12.7 billion in the period from July 2017 to June 2018.
