Egypt Registers Primary Surplus of $5.2 Billion

Monthly inflation rate in Egypt fell below zero for the first time since December 2021. (Reuters)
Monthly inflation rate in Egypt fell below zero for the first time since December 2021. (Reuters)
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Egypt Registers Primary Surplus of $5.2 Billion

Monthly inflation rate in Egypt fell below zero for the first time since December 2021. (Reuters)
Monthly inflation rate in Egypt fell below zero for the first time since December 2021. (Reuters)

Egypt registered a primary surplus of EGP98.5 billion ($5.23 billion) in the 2021/22 financial year to June 30, the country’s finance ministry said on Thursday.

The overall budget deficit stood at 6.1% of GDP, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation slowed to 13.2% year-on-year in June from 13.5% in May, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday.

Month on month, headline inflation eased 0.1%, compared to a 1.1% increase in May.

The sharpest annual price increases were in the food and drink, recreation, and restaurant and hotel sectors, according to CAPMAS.

The agency attributed the decline to an 18.8% drop in vegetable prices, and a 10.5% drop in fruit prices. The broader food and beverage index recorded -2.2% yoy in the country as a whole, and -1.8% in the cities.

Egypt, one of the world’s biggest wheat importers, has been hit by the knock-on effect of global commodity price rises that accelerated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though the government has absorbed some of that impact.

It has been working to mitigate the war’s effect on the tourism sector, knowing that Russian and Ukrainian tourists represented almost one third of the total number of visitors.

The Central Bank targets an inflation rate between 5% and 9%, but it said when it raised interest rates by 200 basis points in May that it would temporarily tolerate inflation above that level.

The committee kept rates unchanged in June, and its next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 18.

“Prices are somewhat stable globally as oil prices saw a fall recently,” said Noaman Khalid, an economist at Arqaam Capital. “Also, there were no commodity price hike decisions from the Egyptian government.”

Inflation trends in coming months would depend on whether Egypt would need to allow commodity prices to rise under the terms of an expected deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said.



Report: Syrian Officials Plan to Attend IMF, World Bank Meetings in Washington

A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Report: Syrian Officials Plan to Attend IMF, World Bank Meetings in Washington

A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, DC, US, November 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's finance minister, foreign minister and central bank chief are planning to attend the annual spring meetings held by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, DC this month, four sources familiar with the plans said.

It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US since former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.

Two of the sources told Reuters it was unclear whether Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh and Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh had yet received visas to the United States.

Spokespeople for the IMF, World Bank, Syrian foreign ministry and Syrian presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The other two sources said a high-level meeting focused on reconstruction efforts for Syria could be held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank meetings.

Syria has been ravaged by nearly 14 years of a war that was sparked by a deadly crackdown on protests against Assad, with much of the country's infrastructure left in ruins.

The government that took over after Assad was ousted has sought to rebuild Syria's ties in the region and further afield, and to win support for reconstruction efforts.

But tough US sanctions imposed during Assad's rule remain in place. In January, the US issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage humanitarian aid, but this has had limited effect. Reuters reported in February that efforts to bring in foreign financing to pay public sector salaries had been hampered by uncertainty over whether this could breach US sanctions.

Last month the US gave Syria a list of conditions to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief but the administration of US President Donald Trump has otherwise engaged little with the country's new rulers.

That is in part due to differing views in Washington on how to approach Syria. Some White House officials have been keen to take a more hardline stance, pointing to the new Syrian leadership's former ties to Al-Qaeda as reason to keep engagement to a minimum, according to diplomats and US sources.