By: Heba El-Kordy
Cairo – Mubasher: Gold reserves in Egypt increased by $101 million to a record $3.805 billion in May, compared to $3.704 billion in April on the back of rising global gold prices amid concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Year-on-year (YoY), the contribution of gold to Egypt’s international reserves hiked by 38% from $2.752 billion in May 2019, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
Meanwhile, the country’s foreign reserves fell by more than $1 billion to $36.003 billion in May.
Globally, gold prices advanced by 3.4% or $57.5 during May due to the depreciation of the US dollar and the falling stocks.
The contribution of foreign currency reserves declined by 3.1% to $32.09 billion in May, its lowest level since June 2017, compared to $33.142 billion a month earlier.
YoY, the contribution of foreign currency reserves retreated by $8.98 billion or 21.8% from $41.07 billion in May 2019.
On 12 May, the most populous Arab nation received a $2.7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the rapid financing instrument (RFI) to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
On Friday, Egypt reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a $5.2 billion standby loan.
