Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFA) rose by $3.54 billion in July to an all-time high of $18.5 billion, central bank data showed, with analysts citing renewed Gulf investments, the March 2024 devaluation and a surge in worker remittances as key drivers.
NFA stood at $14.96 billion at end-June. The monthly jump was largely powered by commercial banks: foreign assets at banks increased by $3.28 billion to $39.49 billion while foreign liabilities edged down $166.2 million to $31.50 billion, according to the data.
Remittance inflows have strengthened since the sharp devaluation in March 2024. The central bank said in July that remittances reached $26.4 billion in the nine months to end-March, up from $14.5 billion a year earlier.
Egypt’s consolidated NFA—covering the central bank and commercial banks—turned negative in February 2022 amid hard-currency shortages and only returned to positive territory in May last year. July’s level surpasses the previous peak of $17.47 billion recorded in July 2021, based on Reuters calculations.