By the end of January, Egypt's revenues from the Suez Canal fell to $428 million compared to $804 million for the same period last year amid the unstable situation in the Red Sea. This was announced by the head of the Suez Canal Administration, Osama Rabi, in an interview with an Egyptian TV channel, Bloomberg reports.
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Falling revenues
“This is the first time the Suez Canal is involved in a crisis like this. Previously, every month was better than the previous one and every year better than the previous one,” Rabi emphasized.
According to him, the number of ships passing through the canal has decreased by 36%. Rabie called the problem “another headache” for Egypt, which was already facing an economic crisis.
Bloomberg writes that Egypt is moving closer to reaching a deal with the International Monetary Fund that would increase its current $3 aid package billion and attract other partners.
As Bloomberg wrote with a link to sources at the end of 2023, increasing the amount of financial assistance to almost $6 billion could help Cairo reduce the dollar deficit in the country and stimulate the influx of foreign investment.
At the same time, investors expect that in the coming months Egypt will experience a devaluation, the fourth in the country since 2022. Receiving funds from foreign partners is of great importance for preventing default, writes Bloomberg.
On February 1, the agency wrote that the size of the deal could be increased to $10 billion.