Egypt’s annual core inflation price rose by 0.7 factors in August to achieve 25.1 p.c from 24.4 p.c in July, in accordance with Central Financial institution of Egypt (CBE) figures launched on Tuesday, 10 September.
Month-to-month core shopper worth index (CPI) inflation additionally rose to 0.9 p.c in August 2024, in comparison with -0.5 factors in July 2024 and 0.3 factors in August 2023, the CBE introduced.
Consistent with this development, the headline city CPI additionally climbed by 2.1 proportion factors in August, as reported by the Central Company for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Accordingly, Egypt’s inflation price accelerated following a discount in gas subsidies, breaking a five-month interval of deceleration that had been paving the way in which for the primary interest-rate reduce since 2020.
The annual city inflation price reached 26.2 p.c, up from 25.7 p.c in July, pushed primarily by a 1.8 p.c enhance in meals costs final month, which had slowed to a mere 0.3 p.c enhance in July.
Regardless of a momentary decline in July when the annual core inflation price dropped to 24.4 p.c—its lowest degree since December 2022—the general inflationary pressures stay excessive.
Containing inflation and setting it on a downward trajectory stays a key precedence underneath Egypt’s USD 8 billion (EGP 387 billion) mortgage program with the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF).
Initially, the CBE set a goal inflation price of seven p.c (±2 p.c). The central financial institution anticipates a decline in inflation by the primary quarter of 2025 because of the amassed results of its financial tightening measures. Nonetheless, it has additionally warned that inflation might rise once more as a result of elements similar to regional geopolitical tensions, shrinking world oil provides, and uncertainties surrounding protectionist commerce insurance policies.
