Egypt’s current account deficit widens in April-June quarter

Egypt’s current account deficit widens in April-June quarter

CAIRO: Egypt’s current account deficit widened in the April-to-June quarter as imports surged and tourism was slow to bounce back to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to central bank figures released on Thursday. The deficit widened to $5.13 billion in the quarter from $3.83 billion a year earlier, when the coronavirus pandemic was taking a heavy toll on the economy and tourism ground to a virtual halt. A strong currency helped boost imports to $19.59 billion in the quarter from $13.83 billion a year earlier. Tourism revenue jumped to $1.75 billion during the quarter from a low of $305 million at the height of the coronavirus crisis in April-June 2020, according to Reuters calculations using data from the bank’s latest balance of payments report. Two years earlier, before the pandemic, Egypt reported tourism revenue of $3.18 billion for the April-June period. Suez Canal revenue climbed to $1.56 billion during the quarter from $1.34 billion, while remittances rose to $8.05 billion from $6.21 billion. For the whole of the financial year to the end of June, the current account deficit, hit by the pandemic, widened to $18.4 billion from $11.2 billion. Tourism revenue dropped by 50.7 percent to $4.9 billion during the year,