Egypt's current account deficit drops to $9.5 billion in first half of fiscal year 2025/2026

Egypt's balance of payments showed improvement in the first half of fiscal year 2025/2026, with the current account deficit decreasing by 13.6 percent to $9.5 billion, down from $10.9 billion in the previous year. This improvement was driven by a 28.4 percent increase in net current transfers and a 20.6 percent rise in the services balance surplus, which reached $8.9 billion. Remittances from Egyptians abroad grew by 29.6 percent to $22.1 billion, and tourism revenues increased by 17.3 percent to $10.2 billion. Suez Canal revenues also rose by 19 percent to $2.2 billion. Net foreign direct investment inflows increased to $9.3 billion, with significant contributions from new company establishments, capital increases, the Alam El Roum deal worth $3.5 billion, and a rise in real estate investments by non-residents. Portfolio investments recorded net inflows of $5 billion. However, the petroleum trade deficit widened to $8.9 billion due to increased petroleum imports, and the non-petroleum trade deficit also expanded to $22.8 billion. The investment income deficit rose by 8 percent to $8.6 billion. Despite these improvements in some external indicators, the overall balance of payments registered a deficit of $2.1 billion during the period, compared to a deficit of $502.6 million in the corresponding period last year.