Egypt spent 60.1 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.51 bln) on fuel subsidies in the first nine months of the 2018-2019 financial year, petroleum minister Tarek El Molla said on Tuesday, a drop of 28.45 percent from the same period the previous year.

Egypt has been reducing fuel subsidies as part of an IMF-backed reform programme that began in 2016, and is due to remove subsidies on most energy products by June.

The government spent 84 billion Egyptian pounds on fuel subsidies in the first nine months of the 2017-2018 financial year. The financial year runs from July to June.