Egypt's foreign reserves recorded a slight rise for the first time in five months, the Central Bank of Egypt said Thursday.
The reserves rose by US$73 million to $17.104 billion, up from December's $17.031 billion, which is an increase of 0.42 percent.
Mohsen Adel, an economic expert, said the CBE has managed to capitalize on Gulf aid in increasing the reserve.
He said the increase comes despite Egypt's repayment of debts worth of $700 million to the Paris Club, an exceptional dollar auction of $1.5 billion and providing $500 million to banks as part of a periodic mechanism.
Adel predicted the reserves to increase relatively in the coming period, encouraged by Arab aid, proivded that measures are taken to attract more tourists, rationalize imports and boost exports.
Edited translation from MENA
