The deficit marked a 13.6 percent decline from $10.9 billion recorded during the same period a year earlier.
The narrowing of the current account balance was driven by a 28.4 percent rise in net unrequited current transfers (net secondary income), which reached $22 billion during the July–December 2025 period.
However, the Balance of Payments (Bop), yielded an overall deficit of US$ 2.1 billion during the period under review against a deficit of US$ 502.6 million a year before.
According to the statement, the services balance rose by 20.6 percent, achieving a surplus of $8.9 billion.
Remittances, tourism, and Suez Canal revenues remain among Egypt’s largest and most stable sources of foreign currency, supporting foreign reserves and easing pressure on the BOP.
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad continued to rise, increasing by 29.6 percent to $22.1 billion, compared to $17.2 billion during the same period a year earlier.
Tourism revenues also rose by 17.3 percent to $10.2 billion, up from $8.7 billion, while Suez Canal receipts went up by 19 percent to $2.2 billion, up from $1.8 billion.
The canal’s traffic also improved during the first half, with the net tonnage increasing by 16.1 percent to 284 million tons, while the number of transiting vessels increased by 5.8 percent, amounting to 6.7 thousand vessels.
This improvement follows a period of disruption in 2023, when global shipping firms avoided the area due to Israel’s war on Gaza and retaliatory Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandeb Strait.
Traffic showed recovery during 2025, signaling the beginning of a partial recovery in navigation activity.
Trade deficit widens
Meanwhile, the current account balance’s improvement was hindered due to the oil trade deficit widening by $2.3 billion to reach $8.9 billion, up from $6.7 billion.
This was driven by higher oil imports, which increased by $1.9 billion to $11.6 billion, up from $6.7 billion during the same period a year earlier.
Natural gas imports rose by $2.1 billion, while crude oil increased by $305.8 million, while imports of oil products fell by $522.4 million.
Oil exports, however, fell by $352.3, to record $2.6 billion, down from $3 billion.
This is due to lower exports of crude oil by $343.1 million and lower oil products exports by $169.7 million. Natural gas exports rose by $160.5 million.
In addition, the non-oil trade deficit widened by around $2 billion to reach $22.8 billion during the first half of the current FY, up from $20.8 billion, due to an increase in non-oil merchandise import payments by $4.5 billion to $41.1 billion, compared to $36.6 billion.
The rise was due to an increase in imports of passenger vehicles, spare parts and accessories for cars and tractors, corn, telephones, and soybeans.
Payments for non-oil exports, however, grew by $2.5 billion to $18.3 billion, up from $15.7 billion, mainly due to an increase in exports of gold, household electrical appliances, fresh, chilled and cooked vegetables, fresh and dried fruits, as well as ready-made clothes.
FDIs inflows rise, outflows fall
The capital and financial account recorded a net inflow of $6.5 billion during the first half, down from $8.9 billion, as foreign direct investments (FDI) recorded an inflow of $9.3 billion, compared to $6 billion, while the net outflow of oil and mineral resources declined to $159.5 million from $196.9 million
Portfolio investments recorded a net inflow of $5 billion, alongside a $9.7 billion increase in Egyptian banks’ foreign assets abroad.
Non-oil FDIs also recorded a net inflow of $9.4 billion, due to capital increases of existing companies, which recorded an inflow of $6.1 billion. Net investment inflows from real estate purchases by non-residents recorded $732.1 million
The CBE’s liabilities recorded a net outflow, decreasing slightly to $435.1 million, compared with a net inflow of $704.5 million.
Medium- and long-term loans recorded net repayments of around $380.7 billion, with total repayments reaching $3.9 billion.
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