Suez Canal transit tolls will remain steady in 2015 except for a reduction in the discount for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, the canal authority said on Wednesday.

Authority chairman Mohab Mahmish told a news conference that the discount for LNG carriers had been set at 25 percent, down from 35 percent in 2014. That discount rate had been in place since 1994, he said.

The strategic waterway, the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, is a barometer for international trade. It is also one of Egypt’s main foreign currency earners.

Mamish said canal revenues in 2014 reached $5.45 billion, 6.8 percent higher than the previous year.

He said the total tonnage passing through the canal last year was 962.7 million tonnes.