<\/p>\n
The IMF Executive Board completed the seventh review under Egypt\u2019s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), allowing authorities to draw about $1.5 billion under the EFF and $272 million under the RSF.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The latest approval brings total purchases and disbursements under the two arrangements to about $7.3 billion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said Egypt entered the period of war in the Middle East from a stronger macroeconomic position than during previous external shocks, supported by robust growth, lower inflation and rising gross international reserves.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Economic growth reached 5% in the third quarter of the 2025\/26 financial year, taking growth over the first nine months to 5.2%. The IMF expects growth of about 4.6% for the full year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inflation declined until March, when it rose to 15.2% because of exchange rate depreciation and higher energy prices. Headline inflation later eased to 14.3% in June, while core inflation also stood at 14.3%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The current account came under pressure from higher oil and gas prices, but record remittances, strong tourism receipts and a gradual recovery in Suez Canal revenues helped contain the impact. The current account deficit is estimated at 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fiscal performance remained strong, with the primary balance and tax revenue targets exceeded by the end of March. Gross financing needs declined by 5% of GDP in 2025\/26. The tax-to-GDP ratio is expected to rise by 1.2 percentage points, while the primary surplus is projected to increase from 4.8% of GDP to 5% in 2026\/27.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said Egypt\u2019s policy response helped limit the effect of the regional shock. \u201cEgypt entered the period of the war in the Middle East from a solid macroeconomic position, reflecting substantial progress in restoring stability and rebuilding buffers under the Fund-supported program,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clarke added that exchange rate flexibility, energy price adjustments and targeted support helped contain the impact.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, the IMF warned that vulnerabilities remain, including high public debt, large financing needs and a significant state role in the economy. \u201cContinued fiscal discipline and accelerating structural reforms, notably decisive implementation of the State-Ownership Policy and divestment agenda, will be essential to preserve macroeconomic stability and strengthen resilience,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said reform progress has been uneven. Egypt has adopted a State Ownership Policy and improved customs and tax administration, but divestment and efforts to reduce the state\u2019s economic footprint have moved more slowly than expected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Recent divestment proceeds have reached about $520 million.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF expects growth to slow to 4.4% in 2026\/27 because of weaker investment, higher costs and uncertainty linked to the war. Inflation is expected to rise to 16.7% in the second half of 2026 before easing later.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clarke said Egypt should maintain tight monetary policy, exchange rate flexibility, fiscal consolidation and faster structural reforms to support private sector-led growth and strengthen resilience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41206,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-41205","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Egypt has secured $1.77 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after completing reviews under two economic support programmes.","published_date":"","news_description":"Egypt has secured $1.77 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after completing reviews under two economic support programmes.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41207,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41205\/revisions\/41207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=41205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}