Hitting a record since the beginning of 2015, Egypt’s trade deficit widened in July to reach EGP 34.7 billion, up 38.8% compared to the same month last year.
In a statement Tuesday, official statistics agency CAPMAS attributed the July hike to a 2.6% drop in exports and a 24.3% increase in imports.
Hany Geneina, chief analyst at Pharos invesment bank explained that the increase in the value of imports was cause by the depreciation of the Egyptian pound against the dollar.
He said that the 202 percent increase in the value of imported petroleum products reflected the Egyptian government's focus on providing energy need to support higher consumption of electricity during the summer months amid a weakened exchange rate.
For the first time this year, said Geneina, Egypt resorted to the import of liquified natural gas (LNG) just as private sector cement companies imported coal to operate their plants, both of which played a key role in driving up the import bill of petroleum prodcuts.
