The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Egypt reached a staff-level agreement to unlock the second tranche of the $12bn, three-year loan programme, the Washington-based fund said in a press release on Friday. “The IMF staff team and the Egyptian authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Egypt’s economic reform programme supported by the IMF’s $12bn arrangement,” the IMF said. The statement followed a visit by an IMF team last week to conduct a review of Egypt’s reform efforts to decide when the next $1.25bn would be disbursed. Egypt’s Central Bank Governor, Tarek Amer, said that the deal is a new vote of confidence in the local economy. Egypt’s inflation extended its rally in April, standing at 32.9% year-on-year (y-o-y), the highest in almost 30 years, according to official data released on Wednesday.

Source: Daily News Egypt May 13, 2017 16:52 UTC