Data from the Central Bank of Egypt showed that the deficit in Egypt's net foreign assets decreased by approximately 5.26 billion Egyptian pounds (170.5 million dollars) in November to 834 billion pounds, following an increase in commercial banks' assets and a decrease in the Central Bank's liabilities. The deficit remains at the third highest level ever, following the record deficit in June and October.
Net foreign assets represent the assets of the Central Bank and commercial banks owed to non-residents, minus their liabilities. The Central Bank has relied on the country's foreign assets to help support the Egyptian currency over the past two years. The value of net foreign assets stood at 248 billion pounds in September 2021. Egypt devalued its currency by nearly half from March 2022 to March 2023 but has maintained it unchanged since then at 30.85 to the dollar. The dollar was trading near 51 pounds in the parallel market on Thursday.