Egypt's trade deficit fell for the seventh consecutive month in February to reach LE11.72 billion ($1.6 billion), state-run statistical body CAPMAS reported on Saturday.

The figure represented a 43.2 percent drop compared to the same month in 2013, when the deficit stood at LE20.66 billion ($3.1 billion).

The report showed that the decline in the deficit was driven by a drastic fall in imports such as wheat, crude oil, pharmaceutical products and steel.

The value of imports shrank by 27.9 percent, recording LE27.75 billion ($3.8 billion) against LE38.49 billion ($5.3 billion) in February 2013.

Similarly, Egypt’s exports fell by 10.1 percent in February to record LE16.03 billion ($2.2 billion), compared to LE17.83 billion ($2.5 billion) in the same period last year.