Egypt

The economy has pulled through since its pandemic-induced contraction in Q2 2020, but the global health crisis continues to present challenges to the economic outlook. Egypt’s heavy reliance on goods imports to meet the needs of its consumer-driven economy is working against it in the context of surging global commodity prices. The trade deficit has bulged, tourism receipts have recorded an unimpressive performance, and the global environment has proven less than desirable for foreign investment. These various pressures are starting to show the cracks in the economy – namely the fact that Egypt is relying a little bit too much on portfolio inflows and external debt to meet its external financing needs. Global uncertainty is unlikely to be fading anytime soon, following the recent discovery of the new Omicron variant, which will determine the course of the pandemic in coming months. (Source: Egypt Quarterly Update, published December 2021.)

Macroeconomic Data

(2020)