Egypt's Suez Canal Revenue up 16.3 pct

Revenue from Egypt's Suez Canal rose 16.3 per cent year on year in February but fell from January, the canal authority's website showed. Many canal employees were on strike throughout the month as the protests that ousted the government of Hosni Mubarak spread across the country, but officials said traffic in the waterway was unaffected. The canal is a vital source of foreign currency in Egypt, along with tourism, oil and gas exports and remittances from Egyptians living abroad. Revenue rose to $388.7 million from $334.1 million in February 2010 but fell from $416.6 million in January 2011. Analysts say February is traditionally slow because of a seasonal decline in non-oil traffic.