CAIRO / RankWire.AI / – Egypt’s net international reserves increased to an estimated $55.0723 billion at the close of June 2026. This figure surpassed the $55 billion mark for the first time, marking a new record. The Central Bank of Egypt announced this figure on July 8. Reserves grew from $53.1342 billion at the end of May, representing a monthly rise of approximately $1.94 billion, or about 3.6%, which was the largest gain in the first half of the year.
At the end of December 2025, reserves stood at $51.4516 billion. They then increased to $52.5938 billion in January and $52.7455 billion in February. March closed at $52.8306 billion, while April’s total was $53.0092 billion. By May, reserves had reached $53.1342 billion before the notable jump in June. Official monthly figures indicate that Egypt’s foreign reserves grew every month during the first half of 2026.
Compared to December, June reserves increased by roughly $3.62 billion, or just over 7%. In January, the central bank stated that reserves covered about 6.3 months of merchandise imports. The June report did not update this import coverage ratio nor specify the sources contributing to the monthly reserve growth. The bank classified the June figure as provisional and presented it in millions of US dollars.
Reserve Accumulation Accelerates in June
Data from the central bank indicated that remittances totaled $39.2 billion from July 2025 through April 2026, reflecting a 33.2% increase from $29.4 billion during the same period the previous year. Remittances in April alone reached approximately $4.3 billion, with the monthly total rising 44% from about $3 billion in April 2025. The reports did not explicitly link these remittance figures to the June surge in Egypt’s net international reserves.
Egypt’s current account deficit for the January-March 2026 quarter was $5.1 billion, up from $2.3 billion in the same period a year earlier. Increased remittances, tourism income, and Suez Canal revenues partially offset the broader merchandise trade deficit. Net foreign direct investment inflows amounted to $3.7 billion, slightly below the $3.8 billion recorded a year earlier. These external sector figures do not offer detailed insights into the specific components behind the June reserve increase.
External Sector Factors Underpin the Record Reserve Levels
The International Monetary Fund and Egyptian officials reached a staff-level agreement on June 29 regarding the country’s seventh program review. The agreement also included the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. IMF staff indicated that gross international reserves remained broadly stable at the end of March. The June net reserve figure was published following these review discussions and represents the latest official monthly data released by Egypt’s monetary authorities.
Reserves at the end of June surpassed all previous monthly levels reported by the Central Bank of Egypt during the first half of the year. The $55.0723 billion total exceeded May’s reserves by nearly $2 billion and was more than $3.6 billion higher than the December 2025 figure. The data show a steady increase each month leading up to June, with no official explanation provided for the recent surge, making the record reserve figure the primary highlighted development in the announcement.