Egypt’s Central Bank has said that it expects the country’s balance of payments to exceed $3bn by the third quarter.

This would represent a dramatic downturn. In the second half of 2010, Egypt’s balance of payments registered an overall surplus of $571.7m, against a surplus of $2.bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In a statement, the Central Bank said falling tourism revenues, export proceeds, Egyptian workers’ remittances and foreign investments are behind the balance of payment figures due to the popular uprising that led to the overthrow of long-time president Hosni Mubarak.