Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation climbed to 13.6 percent in March, up from 12.8 percent in February, as reported by the statistics agency CAPMAS on Thursday.
On Monday, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the Egyptian pound surged to an unprecedented level following the implementation of new tariffs by President Donald Trump on April 5. This development marks the weakest performance for the pound since December 2024.
Egypt has established ambitious targets for the coming years, aiming to attract $60 billion in foreign direct investment and increase the value of exports to $145 billion.
Non-oil private sector contraction
Egypt’s non-oil private sector experienced a contraction in March, marking the first downturn of 2025 due to weakened demand. This information was reported by S&P Global on Thursday. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 from 50.1 in February, dipping below the 50.0 threshold that distinguishes growth from contraction. The decline in the PMI was primarily influenced by a reduction in new orders, both domestically and internationally, which compelled firms to scale back on output, purchases, and staffing levels.
Read more: Egypt, France sign strategic partnership agreements in key sectors
Growth in net foreign assets
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has recently disclosed a remarkable increase in net foreign assets within the Egyptian banking system, which rose by approximately $1.5 billion during February 2025. This surge brings the total to $10.17 billion (equivalent to EGP515.856 billion), marking a notable increase from $8.7 billion (EGP437.261 billion) recorded in January.
Total foreign assets of the banking sector
According to a recent report from the CBE, the total foreign assets of the banking sector—including both the Central Bank and commercial banks—amounted to EGP3.653 trillion in February, compared to EGP3.579 trillion the previous month. During this timeframe, foreign liabilities experienced a slight decline, decreasing to EGP3.137 trillion from EGP3.142 trillion.
European Parliament approves loans for Egypt
Members of the European Parliament approved a proposal last week to provide Egypt with loans worth EUR4 billion ($4.3 billion). The EU Parliament adopted the macro-financial assistance to Egypt with 452 votes in favor, 182 against, and 40 abstentions. Additionally, the European Commission proposed support for Egypt on March 15, 2024, in the form of macro-financial assistance through loans amounting to up to EUR5 billion.
