The foreign net reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) increased by $40m, to reach $44.459bn, at the end of September, compared to $44.419bn at the end of August, according to a statement released on Monday. This level of foreign net reserves is the highest ever in the CBE's history, which covers more than eight months of commodity imports to Egypt. This is also higher than the international three-months benchmark. Current FX reserves level marked an increase of $8.122bn, compared to $36.537bn in September 2017. According to the CBE, foreign currencies listed in the net reserves reached $41.253bn at the end of September, compared to $41.193bn in August, rising by $60m. On the other hand, the value of gold declined by $19m to settle at about $2.545bn, compared to about $2.564bn at the end of August. Meanwhile the special drawing rights (SDRs) registered $651m in September unchanged from August. The SDRs are an international reserve established by the IMF in 1969 to complement the official reserves of member countries. The value of the SDR is determined by a basket of five major currencies, namely the US Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, and the British Sterling, as well as the Chinese Yuan, which has been included in the basket of currencies as of 1 October 2016. The value of loans to the IMF reached $14m in September, unchanged from August.
