Egypt's trade deficit falls 5pct in December

A drop in the imports of raw steel materials in December 2015 largely contributed to the fall in Egypt's trade deficit by 4.8 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, the official statistics agency CAPMAS said in a statement on Thursday.

Egypt's trade deficit fell to EGP 31.25 billion in December 2015, down from EGP 32.82 billion in the same month the prior year.

During this period, imports fell 6 percent to EGP 46.7 billion, down from EGP 49.7 billion, driven mainly by a sharp decline in the import of raw materials for steel by 40.5 percent.

Other imports including plastics, petrochemicals and meat have also decreased in this period, while imports of pharmaceuticals, passenger cars, petroleum products and wheat have risen in December 2015 compared to the same month the prior year.

The fall in the value of petroleum products on the other hand has contributed to the slight drop in exports by 8.3 percent to EGP 15.4 billion, down from EGP 16.8 billion.