Egypt’s trade balance deficit declined by 20.5 per cent in August to reach $3 billion, down from the $3.8 billion for the same month in 2019, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Tuesday.

According to CAPMAS, Egypt’s exports witnessed a drop by 9.4 per cent in August to record $1.9 billion, down from the $2.11 billion in August 2019, due to the decline in number of exported commodities value, including that of oil, raw petroleum, ready-garments, and detergents.

Egypt’s imports declined as well. In August, they declined by 16.6 per cent to reach $4.9 billion, down from the $5.9 billion in August 2019. This is due to the drop in number of imported commodities value, especially the oil products, wheat and meat.

In July, Egypt’s trade balance deficit decreased by 51.8 per cent to reach $2.28 billion, down from the $4.73 billion in July 2019, as according to CAPMAS.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Egypt’s real GDP growth, as an oil importer in the Middle East and North Africa region, is expected to decline to 3.5 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent in 2019, and is expected to continue dropping in 2021 to reach 2.8 per cent.

However, the updated IMF estimation of Egypt’s growth has raised its expectation from two per cent growth in 2020, projected in April and June, to 3.5 per cent.

Concerning inflation, the IMF expected the inflation rate for consumer prices to be 5.7 per cent in 2020 and to decline to 6.2 per cent over 2021.