News wire — Egypt has almost doubled its oil hedges during the 2020-21 fiscal year ending in June, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an interview with the country’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.
Egypt has bought more derivative contracts to protect itself against a rise in oil costs, as some importers seek to take advantage of this year’s price rout, the report said.
Crude prices collapsed to historic lows earlier this year, as coronavirus-led lockdowns drained demand for fuel and related products. Benchmark Brent crude has rebounded to almost $50 a barrel, but still remains down 25% this year.
“We did a huge number of hedging contracts,” Maait said in the interview with Bloomberg, without disclosing the size of the programme or other details.
(Reporting by Lasya Priya M in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
