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Suez Canal Records All-time Highest Monthly Revenue

One of the naval units of the Suez Canal Authority fleet (Canal Authority official website)
One of the naval units of the Suez Canal Authority fleet (Canal Authority official website)
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Suez Canal Records All-time Highest Monthly Revenue

One of the naval units of the Suez Canal Authority fleet (Canal Authority official website)
One of the naval units of the Suez Canal Authority fleet (Canal Authority official website)

Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue reached $704 million in July, Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabea said on Tuesday.

The figure represents a 32.4% increase from the same month last year, when the canal only recorded $531.8 million.

The canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and one of the Egyptian government’s main sources of foreign currency.

Around 2,103 ships crossed the canal in July, up 433 ships from the same period last year.

Some 125.1 million tons of cargo were shipped through the canal as well, or an 18.2% increase from July 2021.

Navigation reports have also pointed out to a rise in the number of oil tankers by 60.2%, achieving the highest ever monthly revenues from oil tankers which is estimated at $153 million.

Also, transit of natural gas tankers recorded a 31% rise, the highest ever monthly revenue of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) tankers with a total value of $52 million.

The number of bulk ships increased by 21%, achieving the highest monthly revenue for bulk ships in the history of the canal, amounting to $121 million.

Meanwhile, container ships transiting the canal increased by 8.8%, achieving the second highest monthly revenue from this type of ships with $314 million.

On 29 July, the canal achieved its highest ever daily revenue, recording $31.8 million, and the second highest daily net tonnage in its history, with 5.6 million tons, Rabea said.

Earlier this month, the Canal Authority had stated that the Suez Canal had recorded $7 billion in revenue for the fiscal year 2021/22, up 20.7% from a year earlier.

Egypt’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."