High oil, wheat prices to burden Egypt with over $10 billion, finance minister says

A general view of the city after heavy rainfall, in Cairo, Egypt, January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

June 12 (Reuters) – Oil prices staying at $122 per barrel will cost the Egyptian budget $7.2 billion, Finance Minister Mohamed Maiit told CNBC Arabia on Sunday.

Maiit said that higher global wheat prices and pressure on the Egyptian pound would burden the government with an additional $3 billion, CNBC reported.

Egypt has been suffering from a shortage of foreign currency since the coronavirus pandemic chased away many tourists, international portfolio investors withdrew funds and the Ukrainian crisis pushed up commodity import prices.

Reporting by Omar Fahmy, Writing by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Catherine Evans

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