Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s plan to cut fuel subsidies is on track, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated on Saturday.

The Egyptian authorities are committed to achieving full recovery of cost by the end of the fiscal year 2018/2019 for all fuel products, except for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fuel oil used in bakeries and electricity generation, the IMF stated.

The IMF added that such a step would cut government spending, enabling it to increase spending on health and education.

The international organisation revealed that Egypt’s international reserve was expected to grow to $45.4 billion during the fiscal year 2019-2020, compared to $44.9 billion in FY18/19.

In November 2016, the IMF agreed to grant Egypt a $12 billion loan under the North African country’s economic reform programme.

Earlier in April, Moody’s reported that Egypt was expected to achieve a 1.7% budget surplus during FY19/20, with the budget deficit recording 7.5%.