Egypt’s Net International Reserves (NIR) inched up by the end of December to reach $16.445 billion from $16.423 billion the month before, the state’s central bank said on its website on Monday.

Egypt expects to receive $1.5 billion in loans from the World Bank and African Development Bank this month in an attempt to meet the country's need of imports and to raise the NIR’s level.

International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr asserted to Ahram Online on Monday that the loans’ transfer was done on 31 December, attributing the late delivery to the new year vacations in the U.S.

The reserves have plunged by more than half following the 2011 uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak that was followed by political and security unrest, scaring away tourists and investors, two of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency.