Broad money supply (M2) growth decelerated marginally to 12.9% Y-o-Y in October, from 13% in September, on the back of the banking sector’s lower net foreign asset (NFA) position. NFA position of the banking sector decreased by USD0.5bn to reach USD4.7bn, driven by a decrease in foreign assets by USD2bn. The large drop in NFAs is a surprise, with no signs of outflows from the fixed income market during the month; on the contrary, the USD-EGP continued to appreciate in October. Meanwhile, net domestic credit growth decelerated to 9.6% Y-o-Y in October, from 10.5% Y-o-Y in the preceding month as credit to the private sector slowed and credit to the public sector continued to contract.
Mohamed Abu Basha