CAIRO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Egypt's net foreign assets rose by $3.54 billion in July to a record high of $18.5 billion, central bank data showed, with analysts saying Gulf investments, a currency devaluation 18 months ago and strong remittances from workers abroad helped boost deposits.

Net foreign assets reached $14.96 billion at the end of June. Almost all of the increase was due to higher assets held by commercial banks.

The Central Bank said in July that remittances from Egyptians abroad had increased since Egypt devalued its currency sharply in March 2024, jumping to $26.4 billion in the nine months to the end of March, up from $14.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Bank data indicated that commercial banks' foreign assets rose by $3.28 billion in July to $39.49 billion, while their liabilities fell by $166.2 million to $31.50 billion.

Egypt's net foreign assets, which include assets held by both the central bank and commercial banks, turned negative in February 2022 and only returned to positive territory in May of last year.

Reuters calculations show that net foreign assets reached a record high of $17.47 billion in July 2021.

(Press coverage by Patrick Warr - Prepared by Ali Khafaji for the Arabic Bulletin - Edited by Mahmoud Reda Murad)