Egypt’s gold reserves rise by 24 percent in first half of 2023

Egypt’s gold reserves rise by 24 percent in first half of 2023

Egypt ranked fifth in the Arab world and 31st globally among gold-possessing countries after its gold reserves rose by 24 percent to reach 125.8 tons until the end of the first half of 2023, economist Ashraf Ghorab announced.

He explained that this comes as the Central Bank of Egypt seeks to enhance the balance of its international reserves by diversifying it to support the local currency.

Gold is an important means of hedging against currency fluctuations, Ghorab added, especially in light of geopolitical developments and global crises after the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The world has seen numerous economic crises in the past few years, he explained, including coronavirus pandemic closures, climate change ramifications and the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has resulted in geopolitical and economic instability and increased fears of a global economic recession.

He explained that these fears have prompted central banks globally since 2022 to enhance its gold reserves, in order to hedge against the risks of global inflation.

Egypt ranked third among the most developed countries in increasing gold reserves during 2022 according to the statistics of the World Gold Council.

The value of gold registered as foreign exchange reserves amounted to about US$7.773 billion at the end of January, according to the Central Bank