IMF Says Preparing for 1st Review of Egypt Program

A general view of banks, hotels, office and residential buildings in the center of Cairo, Egypt, September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A general view of banks, hotels, office and residential buildings in the center of Cairo, Egypt, September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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IMF Says Preparing for 1st Review of Egypt Program

A general view of banks, hotels, office and residential buildings in the center of Cairo, Egypt, September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A general view of banks, hotels, office and residential buildings in the center of Cairo, Egypt, September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Preparations for the first review of Egypt's economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund have begun and dates for the review mission will be announced when agreed with the authorities, an IMF spokesperson said on Thursday.

The IMF approved in December a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility loan for Egypt.

Disbursements under the 46-month program are subject to eight reviews, the first of which was dated March 15, 2023 in an IMF staff report published in December.

Among the key commitments that Egypt made to secure the loan were a permanent shift to a flexible exchange rate regime and wide-ranging structural reforms to reduce the state's footprint in the economy.



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.