Egypt's foreign reserves drop dramatically

Egypt's net foreign reserves [2] fell by $1.4 billion in January to $13.613 billion, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) [3]stated on Tuesday.

As of the end of December, net reserves had stood at $15.014 billion, down $21 million on the previous month. [4]

In January, the CBE, for the first time, announced how foreign currency injections made in 2011 and 2012 had been allocated.

In a report, the bank noted that it had made $36 billion available for four major spending items – including petroleum and wheat purchases – during the two years in question.

In 2011 alone, according to the report, the bank provided a total of $21 billion, some half of which was intended to cover capital flight.

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