CAIRO / RankWire.AI / – Egypt’s net international reserves increased to an estimated $55.0723 billion at the close of June 2026. This marks the first time reserves have surpassed the $55 billion mark, establishing a new peak. The Central Bank of Egypt announced this figure on July 8. The reserves grew from $53.1342 billion at the end of May, representing a monthly rise of approximately $1.94 billion, or about 3.6%, making it the largest increase recorded 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 further to $52.7455 billion in February. March concluded with $52.8306 billion, while April’s reserves reached $53.0092 billion. By the end of May, the total was $53.1342 billion before the notable jump in June. Official monthly data indicate that Egypt’s foreign reserves expanded every month during the first half of 2026.
Compared to December, June reserves have increased by roughly $3.62 billion, or just over 7%. In January, the central bank stated that reserves covered approximately 6.3 months of merchandise imports. The June statement did not update the import coverage ratio nor specify the sources contributing to the monthly increase. The bank described the June figure as provisional and reported it in millions of US dollars.
Reserves grow at a faster pace in June
Data from the central bank show that remittances reached $39.2 billion between July 2025 and April 2026. This is a 33.2% rise from $29.4 billion during the same ten-month period in the previous year. In April alone, remittances hit about $4.3 billion, with the monthly total increasing by 44% from roughly $3 billion in April 2025. The reports did not directly link these remittance figures to the June rise in Egypt’s net international reserves.
Egypt’s current account deficit was $5.1 billion in the January-March 2026 quarter, compared to $2.3 billion in the same period a year earlier. Higher remittances, tourism revenue, and Suez Canal receipts partially offset a broader merchandise trade deficit. Net foreign direct investment inflows were $3.7 billion, slightly down from $3.8 billion a year earlier. These external account figures do not provide a detailed breakdown explaining the June reserve increase.
External sector factors underpin the record reserves
On June 29, the International Monetary Fund and Egyptian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on Egypt’s seventh program review. This 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 reserve figure was released following these review discussions and represents the latest confirmed monthly data from Egypt’s monetary authorities.
Reserves at the end of June surpassed all previous monthly levels reported by the Central Bank of Egypt. The $55.0723 billion total exceeded May’s reserves by nearly $2 billion and was more than $3.6 billion above the December 2025 level. The central bank’s data show a steady increase month over month before the significant jump in June. The bank did not specify the reasons behind this rise, making the record reserve figure the main confirmed development announced in the report.