CBE: Egypt”s Balance of Payments Deficit Narrows to $1.8 Billion in July-March FY 2025/2026
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed that total principal repayments for medium- and long-term loans and facilities amounted to approximately $5.5 billion during the period from July 2025 to March 2026. According to the bank’s Balance of Payments (BoP) report released today, Sunday, July 12, 2026, this marks a substantial decline compared to the $10.1 billion recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The report highlighted that medium- and long-term loans and facilities registered a net disbursement (utilization) of $2.7 billion during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2025/2026. This stands in contrast to a net repayment of $2.6 billion during the corresponding period of the prior year. The central bank noted that total drawings (disbursements) from these medium- and long-term facilities rose to $8.2 billion during the reported period, up from $7.5 billion in the baseline period, reflecting an accelerated utilization of medium- and long-term financing instruments.
Overall Balance of Payments Performance
In a related context, the CBE stated that the Egyptian economy's transactions with the rest of the world showed an improved performance during the July-March period of FY 2025/2026. The overall BoP deficit narrowed to approximately $1.8 billion, down from $1.9 billion during the comparative period of the previous fiscal year.
The central bank attributed this improvement primarily to an increase in net inflows to the capital and financial account, which climbed to roughly $9.9 billion. This performance was heavily driven by a surge in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which reached $13 billion during the first nine months of the fiscal year. This total includes $3.5 billion in exceptional inflows recorded between October and December 2025, stemming from the execution of the "Alam El-Roum" investment transaction.
Conversely, portfolio investments in Egypt recorded net outflows of $4.4 billion during the same period. The report indicated that this exit was triggered by escalating geopolitical developments and regional tensions that gripped the Middle East during the third quarter of the fiscal year, particularly between January and March 2026, directly altering foreign investment trends across Egyptian financial markets.