Remittances from Egyptian expats rises 1.6% to $31.9bn

Remittances from Egyptian workers abroad in the financial year 2021/2022 rose 1.6 percent year-on-year to $31.9 billion, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). 

This is compared to $31.4 billion sent home by Egyptians working overseas in the fiscal year 2020/2021, and $27.8 billion in 2021/2022, the Egypt Independent newspaper reported.

The fiscal year in Egypt starts at the beginning of July and ends at the end of June the following year.

According to the CBE statement, the remittances of Egyptians working abroad are witnessing a remarkable increase, as it is one of the most important sources of foreign currency.

Remittances from April to June 2022 increased by three percent to $8.3 billion, compared to $8.1 billion during the corresponding period of 2021, the newspaper said.

In August, Reuters reported that the central bank kept its lending rate unchanged at 12.25 percent and its deposit rate at 11.25 percent.

“The Monetary Policy Committee decided that keeping policy rates unchanged remains consistent with achieving price stability over the medium term,” the bank said in a statement.

The central bank has raised rates by two percentage points in May and one percentage point in March to combat inflation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US interest rate hikes.