Egypt's reserves down to $15.3 bn in December

Egypt's net international reserves (NIR) inched down to $15.33 billion at the end of November from $15.88 billion a month prior, the country's central bank announced on Tuesday.

Reserves fell sharply after the 2011 uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, but were lifted in 2013 when Gulf Arab states gave billions of dollars in aid to Egypt after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

However, this fiscal year, Egypt returned a $2.5 billion deposit to Qatar and only received $1 billion in grant-based aid from Kuwait in November.