Egyptian export receipts inched up 0.5 percent to $1.418 billion in October from $1.411 billion in the same month the previous year, the ministry of industry and foreign trade announced in a statement on Thursday.

The increase in exports was attributed in the statement to the allowance of dollar deposits for export revenues to six countries, in an exception made to a central bank policy that sets a ceiling of $50,000 for dollar deposits. The exception was made to revenues from exports to Palestine, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.

The monthly cap to dollars was set by the central bank to restrict a currency black market that has flourished in the past few years following the uprising in 2011.

The improvement in this month's exports is also due to increased credit facilities for exporters by the central bank, read the statement.

Exports remain 17.7 percent lower in the period from January to October at $15.318 billion compared to the same period a year earlier when they registered $18.611 billion.

The falling trend in manufacturing exports was caused by both energy and FX shortages, Hany Farahat, senior economist at Cairo-based CI Capital, told Ahram Online in a telephone interview in October.

Egypt, which has gone from being a net-exporter to a net-importer of natural gas in recent years, has been diverting most of the fuel to power plants, leaving many factories unable to operate at full capacity.