Hours after raising interest rates and allowing its currency to float freely on 6 March, the Egyptian government announced it had finally reached a breakthrough deal with the IMF for a long-awaited $8bn bailout loan, more than doubling the $3bn facility initially agreed in December 2022 (MEES, 23 December 2022).

The augmented support package comes “amid significant macroeconomic challenges that have become more complex to manage with the impact of the recent conflict in Gaza on tourism and Suez Canal receipts,” IMF mission lead Ivanna Vladkova Hollar says. (CONTINUED - 936 WORDS)