Egypt foreign reserves soar to $15.5bn

Cairo, October 29, 2012

Egypt's foreign reserves probably rose $300-400 million in October thanks to loans from Qatar and Turkey, state-run al-Gomhuria newspaper reported on Monday, quoting an unnamed central bank official.

The reserves have fallen by more than half since a popular uprising in January 2011 that scared away tourists and investors, two of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency.

Reserves at the end of October will probably be $15.4 billion or $15.5 billion, up from $15.04 billion at the end of September, al-Gomhuria said.

Qatar lent Egypt $500 million in October, its second such loan in the last three months, and Turkey lent the country another $500 million.

Egypt drew $600 million from reserves to pay for petroleum imports and $100 million to repay foreign loans, the newspaper quoted the official as saying.-Reuters

Tags: Qatar | Egypt | loan | foreign reserve |