Egypt's trade deficit grew 21.9 percent in December compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest available trade report by the state-run statistics agency CAPMAS released on Thursday.

The deficit reached LE21.9 billion in December, compared to LE18 billion in the same period the previous year.

The growth in the trade deficit was driven by a 9.6 percent increase in imports to reach LE38.2 billion and a 3.5 percent decline in exports to record LE16.3 billion.