Egypt’s net international reserves (NIRs) rose slightly by the end of May to post $40.4 billion, up from $40.3 billion recorded by the end of both March and April, which is the highest level they have reached since the end of February, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Thursday.

Total gold reserves increased by the end of May to $4.4 billion, up from $4.1 billion recorded by the end of April, according to the CBE.

Meanwhile, foreign currency reserves stood at $36 billion, according to the CBE.

Egypt is expected to receive $1.6 billion, the third and final tranche of the loan it had obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the stand-by agreement (SBA) programme.

The total amount of the loan is $5.2 billion, $3.6 billion of which the IMF has already handed over to Egypt in two tranches.

Receiving the third tranche is expected to reflect positively on Egypt’s NIR in June.

Severely hit by the pandemic, Egypt’s NIRs dropped sharply to $40.1 billion in March, down from $45.5 billion in February 2020.

The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee is anticipated to hold its fourth meeting of 2021 on 17 June to review key interest rates