Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority announced total revenues of $429 million in July from the canal, a decrease of almost two per cent from the $437.7 million recorded in the same month last year, state news agency Mena reported.

Canal authorities also announced revenues of $2.919 billion in the first seven months of 2016, a 1.9 per cent decrease from $2.977 billion in the same period last year, according to official data on the canal’s website.

However on a month-to-month basis, Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue rose by 2.5 per cent in July from a month earlier, data from the Cabinet Information Center showed.

Suez Canal revenue reached $429 million in July compared with $418.7 million in June.

Egyptian officials predicted Suez Canal revenues would increase following the inauguration of an additional lane to allow two-way traffic and works to deepen the main canal to allow the passage of larger vessels in August 2015, which cost upwards of around $4 billion.

Officials had claimed the new canal would more than double revenues to reach $13.2 billion in 2023. 

However, falling oil prices and a slowdown in world trade led to a decrease in the canal’s revenues.

The canal is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency. Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy since a 2011 uprising scared away tourists and foreign investors, other main sources of hard currency.