Arab Finance: Egypt’s balance of payments (BoP) recorded an overall surplus of $2.8 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2025/2026, according to official data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

This was supported by net inflows of $23.2 billion in capital and financial accounts.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) hit $18 billion, while portfolio investments recorded net inflows of $4.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the current account deficit widened to $22.5 billion from $15.4 billion at the end of June 2025, due to a 27.1% growth in the merchandise trade deficit to $64.8 billion and a 33.8% rise in the investment income deficit to $21.2 billion.

The deficit was partly offset by a 29.6% increase in Egyptians’ remittances from abroad to $47.3 billion and a 10.5% rise in the services surplus to $16.7 billion.

Oil imports rose by 27.6% to $24.9 billion, reflecting higher imports of natural gas and crude oil.

Tourism revenues surged by 10.3% to $18.4 billion from $16.7 billion, while Suez Canal transit receipts increased by 21.6% to $4.4 billion from $3.6 billion.