CAIRO, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Egypt recorded a balance-of-payments surplus of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars in the 2025/2026 fiscal year, reversing a deficit of 2.1 billion dollars a year earlier, the Central Bank of Egypt said Monday.

The capital and financial account posted a net inflow of 23.2 billion dollars during the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, up from 10.2 billion dollars a year earlier, according to a statement by the central bank.

It included 18 billion dollars in net foreign direct investment (FDI) and 4.2 billion dollars in net portfolio investment, the statement said.

Remittances from Egyptians working abroad surged 29.6 percent to 47.3 billion dollars, while tourism revenues rose 10.3 percent to 18.4 billion dollars, it said.

Suez Canal transit receipts increased 21.6 percent to 4.4 billion dollars, it added.

However, the current account deficit widened to 22.5 billion dollars from 15.4 billion dollars a year earlier, driven by a larger merchandise trade deficit and the investment income deficit, according to the bank.

The non-oil trade deficit expanded 25.4 percent to 46.6 billion dollars, mainly as non-oil imports grew faster than non-oil exports.

Abu Bakr al-Deeb, an economic researcher at the Cairo-Abed Arab Center for Research and Studies, said strong financial inflows helped Egypt improve its overall external position despite continued pressure from the trade balance.

Al-Deeb noted, however, that the surplus, while a positive development, should not be taken alone as evidence that external imbalances had been resolved.

"Egypt needs to strengthen its export capacity and competitiveness and direct investment toward productive sectors that can expand domestic production and generate foreign currency earnings," he explained. "Continued tourism growth and remittances will remain important, but reducing the structural trade gap is essential to strengthening the country's external position."