Egypt expects its budget deficit to be 8.2 to 8.4 percent of gross domestic product for the year to the end of June (GDP), up from the 7.9 percent forecast before political protests began, the finance minister said.

The unrest that toppled President Hosni Mubarak will hurt tax revenue this year, but the main hit will come in the 2011/12 fiscal year if uncertainty continues, Samir Radwan told Reuters by telephone on Tuesday.