Egypt’s Net Foreign Assets Decline Sharply

Central Bank of Egypt's headquarters is seen in downtown Cairo, Egypt March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egypt’s Central Bank data showed on Sunday that the country’s net foreign assets (NFAs) went sharply negative in February, declining by 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.29 billion) to minus 50.3 billion pounds, for the fifth consecutive month.

The shortage of foreign currency helped prompt the central bank to devalue the pound by 14 percent on March 21. The value of NFAs at the end of September amounted to 186.3 billion pounds.