CAIRO, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's net foreign reserves exceeded 57 billion U.S. dollars at the end of August, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt on Monday.
The central bank said in a statement that the country's net international reserves rose to 57.2145 billion dollars, up from 49.2507 billion dollars year-on-year.
Reaching their highest level on record, the figure strengthens the Egyptian government's ability to meet its financial obligations, the statement added.
Egypt's foreign exchange reserves are used to finance essential imports, meet external debt obligations, and cushion the economy against external shocks. The reserves consist of gold and a basket of major international currencies, including the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound sterling, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan. ■