Suez Canal revenues up 4% to $3.18 billion

cairo - The canal's revenues have increased despite slowing global trade

Revenue from Egypt's Suez Canal reached $3.183 billion in the period between January 1 and August 6, 2016, up four per cent from $3.059 billion in the same period last year, the Suez Canal Authority chairman said on Saturday.

Mohab Mameesh, who was speaking at a one-year anniversary celebration of the opening of an expansion to the canal, said the canal's revenues had increased despite slowing global trade.

The Suez Canal Authority usually reports the canal's revenues in dollars every month towards the end of the following month. Since February, it has not published dollar figures for revenues on its website, making monthly comparisons hard to assess after the central bank devalued the pound in March.

The canal is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency. Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy since a 2011 uprising scared away tourists and foreign investors, other main sources of hard currency.

Mameesh said revenues had risen by 13 per cent when calculated in Egyptian pounds but that the rate had been slashed when calculated in dollars because of the devaluation. - Reuters

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