Egypt's foreign reserves increased to $37.019 billion by the end of December, up from $36.723 at the end of November, the Central Bank of Egypt announced on Wednesday.

Egypt's net foreign reserves had first hit pre-2011 levels in July 2017, reaching $36.036 billion after a $4.7 billion surge in July alone.

The reserves have been climbing since Egypt signed the $12 billion loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2016, following the decision to float the pound.

Egypt is expected receive its next IMF loan disbursal in the third week of December