Foreign reserves climb to $17 billion in April

Egypt’s foreign reserves reached US$17.01 billion at the end of April, up from US$16.56 billion in March, the Central Bank announced Wednesday.

The US$450 million increase is the largest jump in reserves since June 2015, when reserves rose above $20 billion on the back of the issuing of $1.5 billion in dollar-denominated bonds. Egypt’s reserve position deteriorated throughout the summer of 2015, until it hit $16.3 billion in September. Since then, reserves have inched up steadily.

In contrast to previous months, the CBE did not make billions of dollars available in exceptional currency autions, sticking to its regular weekly auctions of US$120 million.

The Central Bank has not yet clarified where any additional funds might have come from. Various allies, including China and Saudi Arabia are expected to make deposits at the Central Bank. The United Arab Emirates announced via its state news agency that it pledged US$4 billion in aid for Egypt, including a US$2 billion deposit at the CBE, although it was unclear whether the amount referred to aid already granted last year.

However, an unnamed official at the Central Bank of Egypt reportedly told the state-owned Al-Ahram that funds promised by Egypt’s allies had not yet arrived at the bank.