Transit receipts from the canal fell by 57.2 percent to register $959.3 million, compared to $2.2 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, reported the CBE.

The CBE explained that the canal receipts dropped by 7.4 percent in the first nine months of the FY2023/2024 (July 2023-March 2024) to record $5.8 billion against $6.2 billion a year prior.

The statement reported a decline in the net tonnage by 15.6 percent to register 944.9 million tons and the number of transiting vessels by 11.5 percent.

The statement reported an 11.5 percent drop in the number of vessels transiting the canal and a 15.6 percent decline in the total net tonnage, which registered 944.9 million tons over the nine months.

“This decrease stemmed primarily from the Red Sea traffic disruptions, which forced several commercial shipping companies to divert their shipping routes," said the CBE.

PoB improves
 

During July/March of FY2023/2024, Egypt’s external trade transactions recorded an increase in the overall balance of payments (BoP) surplus to register $4.1 billion.

The January/March 2024 period witnessed an overall surplus of $4.5 billion.

The CBE attributed these gains to implementing a fourth round of devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar and the hike in key interest rates by six percent on 6 March.

The Egyptian pound has since lost over 60 percent of its value against the greenback.

FDIs increase
 

The CBE also highlighted that these measures reflected positively on the capital and financial account, which recorded a net inflow of $20 billion in July 2023-March 2024.

This, according to the CBE, was driven by an unprecedented hike in net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country to hit $23.7 billion, compared to $7.9 billion in the same period of FY2022/2023.

As per the CBE data, $18.2 billion of the FDI inflows was attained in the first quarter of 2024 (the third quarter of FY2023/2024), revealing a shift in portfolio investments in Egypt to a net inflow of $14.6 billion mainly in January-March 2024.

The current account deficit widens
 

However, Egypt’s current account deficit widened in the first nine months of FY2023/2024 to record $17.1 billion, against $5.3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

This performance was led by the shift of the oil-trade balance into a deficit of $5.1 billion from a surplus of $1.7 billion due to the decline in the value of oil exports surpassed that of oil imports, according to the CBE.

Remittances drop
 

Along with the drop in the Suez Canal revenues, remittances from Egyptian expatriates also fell by 17.1 percent to reach only $14.5 billion, down from $17.5 billion.

However, the remittance inflows saw a rise of 11.1 percent (m-o-m) in March 2024 - for the first time after a 22-month slump – to stand at $2.1 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in March 2023, thanks to March’s corrective measures mentioned above, said the CBE.

Meanwhile, the investment income deficit widened by four percent to post $14 billion, compared to $13.5 billion, as the investment income payments rose by 2.9 percent to record $15.1 billion.

"This reflects the rise in interest payments on external debt," the CBE explained.

Moreover, investment income receipts declined by nine percent to $1.1 billion, mainly due to the drop in direct investment income receipts.

On the other hand, tourism revenues rose by 5.3 percent to record $10.9 billion in FY2023/2024.

This came through an 11.1 percent increase in tourist numbers to record 11.1 million tourists in that fiscal year.