An official source has confirmed that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has called upon the Ministry of Finance to sell it a portion of the Public Treasury’s stock of gold to bolster Egypt’s foreign reserves.

Preferring to remain anonymous, the source, who is a high-ranking official, informed Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Finance Ministry is now looking into just how legal the CBE’s request is, a request that aims to sell around 700 kg of the gold that is currently in the Public Treasury.

The treasury has about 2.43 million ounces, which is around 75.6 tons, according to figures published by the CBE.