Egypt's oil trade balance achieved for the first time in four years a surplus of $150.8 million during the first half of fiscal year 2018/19, compared to a deficit of $2.2 billion in the same period the previous fiscal year, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced. In a report released on Monday, the CBE said the volume of goods exports increased by 18.4 percent to reach $14.3 billion in the first half of FY 2018/19, against $12.1 billion the previous year. Such an increase in the volume of goods exports contributed to reducing the deficit in the balance of trade, the CBE added. Payments on oil imports were down by 2.1 percent to register $5.8 billion as a result of a decline in the country's imports of petroleum products, the CBE noted. The balance of services saw a surge by 36.67 percent to record $7.3 billion, against $5.3 billion, the CBE said. The CBE pointed to an increase in foreign direct investment inflows to Egypt to stand at $6.60 billion in the first half of FY 2018/19, while foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows from Egypt hit $3.8 billion. The rate of medium and long-term loans and credits went down during the first half of FY 2018/19 to reach $2.2 billion, the CBE added.
