Egypt's trade deficit narrowed by 10.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) in May to reach $3.5 billion, down from $3.9 billion a year earlier, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated Saturday 3/8/2024. According to the CAPMAS statement, exports rose by 0.4 percent to $3.8 billion in May, driven by higher sales of fresh fruit, clothing, pasta, and carpets. However, exports of crude oil shipments fell by 4.3 percent, petroleum products by 17.4 percent, and fertilizers by 5.2 percent compared to the same month last year, reported CAPMAS. On the other hand, imports decreased by 5.1 percent to $7.3 billion in May, down from $7.7 billion in the same month a year prior. CAPMAS attributed this decrease to lower purchases of certain goods. Imports of iron or steel raw materials declined by 0.3 percent, medicines and pharmaceutical preparations by 24.7 percent, and organic and inorganic chemicals by 23.3 percent. However, imports of petroleum products surged by 86.1 percent, wheat by 153. 6 percent, natural gas by 39.2 percent, and passenger cars by 15.2 percent. Egypt's current account deficit widened in the first nine months of fiscal year FY2023/2024, which ended on 30 June, to record $17.1 billion, against $5.3 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to the latest figures published by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). This performance was led by the shift of the oil-trade balance into a deficit of $5.1 billion from a surplus of $1.7 billion, as the decline in oil exports surpassed that of oil imports, according to the CBE. Source: State Information Service Egypt