Remittances from Egyptians working abroad reached $27.1 billion from January to November 2020, up from $24.2 billion a year prior, an increase of 11.9 percent, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement on Monday.

CBE data shows that remittance flows in November 2020 reached $2.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.6 percent, Reuters reported.

Egyptian expat remittances are considered one of the key sources of hard currency alongside the Suez Canal and the tourism sector.

In FY 2019/2020, which ended in June, remittances increased by 10.4 percent, reaching a record $27.8 billion, up from $25.2 billion in FY 2018/2019.

In the first quarter of the current FY2020/2021 (July-September), the remittances recorded $8 billion, up from $6.7 billion in the same quarter of FY2019/2020, according to CBE data.