Egypts total foreign debt hit $82.9 billion by the end of December 2017, recording a 3.9 billion dollar increase, which is equivalent to 4.9 percent rise in six months, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced Wednesday. The ratio of the country’s foreign debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate amounted to 36.1 percent by the end of 2017, which is still within the safe limits as per international standards, CBE said. Egypts fiscal year starts in early July and ends in late June. Egypt signed a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2016 to boost economic reform worth $12 billion, and it has recently expanded the issuance of dollar bonds in international markets to bridge the deficit gap in foreign currency financing. In terms of trade, the central bank said in a recent report that Egypts total imports during the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2017-2018 rose by about $1.3 billion to reach $16 billion compared to $14.7 billion during the second quarter of the previous fiscal year 2016-2017. The CBE’s report pointed to increased imports of fuel and mineral oils and its products during the second quarter of fiscal year 2017-2018, which amounted to $3.35 billion compared with $2.69 billion during the same period from 2016 to 2017. Imports of raw materials declined during the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2017-2018 to reach $1.5 billion, including wheat at $419.8 million, iron ore worth $155.7 million, corn valued at $376.1 million and crude cane sugar valued at $7.7 million, the report explained. It pointed out that imports of intermediate goods amounted to five billion dollars, including spare parts, parts of cars and tractors valued at $306 million, polypropylene polymers worth $296 million, and non-organic or organic compounds at $64 million. It also said that imports of spare parts and parts of machinery and equipment amounted to about $374 million, greases, fats and vegetable or animal oils worth $222.7 million and paper and paperboard worth $117.2 million.