Egypt’s gold reserves gold rise to $2.6 billion

CAIRO – 15 July 2017: Egypt’s reserves from gold increased to $2.6 billion, equivalent to LE 46.6 billion, at the end of June, Egypt’s central bank announced on Saturday.

The figure represents an increase of $300 million, compared to the LE 41.3 billion recorded in December last year.

Egypt’s foreign reserves stood at LE 31.3 billion in June, edging closer to pre-2011 levels of $36 billion.

Foreign reserves have been increasing since Egypt clinched a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2016.

Egypt could receive the second tranche of the loan within days, Finance Minister Amr el-Garhy said on Thursday after the IMF approved the disbursement of the second tranche worth $1.25 billion.

The approval followed the completion of the IMf's Executive Board for the first review of Egypt’s economic reform program supported by an arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the fund said in a statement.

"The government and the central bank have taken the right measures to rein in inflation, reduce the budget deficit, and set the Egyptian economy on a path to stability and growth," Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, said.

In November, Egypt received the first loan installment worth $2.75.