Total fuel imports from January to May 2018 rose to about $5.035bn compared to $4.924bn in the January-May 2017 period, with an increase of nearly $111m.

According to the latest statistics of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), total imports of crude oil amounted to $1.483bn, during the first five months of 2018 compared to $708m in 2017, an increase of $774m.

For petroleum products, imports amounted to about $1.127bn, compared with $1.507bn, a decline of $379m, during the same period.

With regard to coal, the value of imports during the January-May 2018 period amounted to about $249m, compared with $148m in 2017, an increase of up to $100m.