CAIRO- Egypt registered a primary budget surplus of 0.5% of GDP, amounting to 30 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.91 billion), during the first half of the 2019/2020 fiscal year, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday.

The overall budget deficit in the first half of 2019/2020 increased to 3.8% from 3.6% from the same period last year and the GDP will increase to 5.8% - 5.9% by end of fiscal year 2019/2020 instead of previously targeted 5.6%, Maait added in a news conference.

($1 = 15.7300 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting by Ahmed Ismail, writing by Amina Ismail) ((amina.ismail@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2394 8114;))