The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said that the foreign-exchange reserves increased to US$26.6 billion in May 2023, compared to US$26.17 billion in April, an increase of $513 million.

The CBE said that its international reserves rose to $34.6 billion in May, compared to $34.5 billion in April, an increase of US$109 million

The rise in reserves was limited due to the decline in the value of gold listed in it to US$7.9 billion in May, compared to US$8.031 billion in April, a decrease of US$82 million, according to the report.

The currencies that increase the Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves include the US dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen, and the Chinese yuan, a percentage of which Egypt’s holdings are distributed based on the exchange rates of those currencies and the extent of their stability in international markets, and it changes according to a plan developed by officials of the Central Bank of Egypt.

The Russian-Ukrainian war caused a record rise in the prices of commodities, grains and oil globally, which raised Egypt’s import bill. The Central Bank of Egypt resort to using reserves to cover the increases.

The International Monetary Fund had expected that the total international foreign exchange reserves with the Central Bank of Egypt would rise to about $80bn within five fiscal years.

Fund documents showed that Egypt’s foreign reserves are expected to rise in June 2023 to $37.1 billion, then to $47.2 billion in June 2024, to $51.4bn in June 2025, then to $63.9bn in June 2026, to rise to $77.8 billion in June 2027, then to $79.9 billion in June 2028.