Egypt's net foreign reserves slipped by US$700 million to US$25.01 billion last month from July, figures on the central bank's website showed, showing the outflow of funds had continued to slow from a peak in the wake of a popular uprising.
Foreign reserves fell by US$860 million in July to US$25.71 billion.
The central bank has said the drawdown of reserves was a temporary measure to cover a balance of payments gap until the economy gets back on its feet following the uprising that drove Hosni Mubarak from office on 11 February.
In June, the reserves appeared to have fallen by just US$659 but a strategist said the figure was skewed because an upward revision in the value of Egypt's gold was worth US$563 million in June, the end of its financial year, so foreign reserves had actually fallen by US$1.2 billion that month.
EFG-Hermes strategist Simon Kitchen said August's unofficial reserves fell by US$560 million to close to zero in August, having risen in the previous two months.
"Unofficial reserves," referred to as other foreign currency assets by the central bank, are additional assets held with commercial banks but not included in official reserve figures.
"Changes in this figure typically reflect foreign buying and selling of Egyptian T-bills. The fall in August may well reflect rising risk aversion in global financial markets in August," said Kitchen.
Revenue from the Suez Canal, a waterway that is a vital source of foreign currency for Egypt, rose 11 percent year on year to US$449.2 million in July, and up 0.9 percent from a month earlier. The canal's activities have been relatively unscathed by the turmoil in the wake of the uprising.
