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EU Pledges Egypt 1 Billion Euros in Financial Aid

A boy checks the calendula flowers, usually exported and used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and traditional medicine, during the annual calendula flower harvest, at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. (Reuters)
A boy checks the calendula flowers, usually exported and used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and traditional medicine, during the annual calendula flower harvest, at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. (Reuters)
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EU Pledges Egypt 1 Billion Euros in Financial Aid

A boy checks the calendula flowers, usually exported and used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and traditional medicine, during the annual calendula flower harvest, at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. (Reuters)
A boy checks the calendula flowers, usually exported and used for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and traditional medicine, during the annual calendula flower harvest, at a field in Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Egypt March 21, 2024. (Reuters)

The EU on Friday said it would provide Egypt with 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in short-term financial aid to help stabilize the country's economy.

Egypt agreed last month to an expanded $8 billion support program with the International Monetary Fund and a deal with the EU worth billions to boost cooperation and help curb migration, as it is struggling with a prolonged economic crisis linked to chronic foreign currency shortages.

The 1 billion euros in short-term aid is part of a bigger package worth 5 billion euros in loans, the statement said. Another 4 billion euros were scheduled as longer-term assistance over the period 2024-2027, but still had to be adopted by the bloc's 27 members.

The loan is meant to address Cairo's deteriorating fiscal situation and financial needs, notably after the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Houthi militia attacks in the Red Sea and the repercussions of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the statement said.

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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.