Egypt: Inflation Starts to Rise AgainEgypt: Inflation Starts to Rise Again
After a 5-month pause, prices rose by an average of 1.2 percent
Egypt’s annual inflation rate rose from 24.4% recorded in July to 25.6% in August. According to data released by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), this was the first increase in the inflation rate in five months since March.
In this North African country’s cities, the so-called “urban inflation rate,” always calculated on an annualized basis, rose to 26.2% in August, also an increase from 25.7% in July. These data did not surprise analysts or Egyptian authorities, given that fuel prices rose by 10-15 percent in August and the first decade of September.
As a consequence, the increase in gasoline and diesel fuel prices had an immediate negative impact, primarily on the prices of food and basic necessities. Among those hardest hit are potatoes, tomatoes, some other horticultural products, and vegetables, fruits and beverages, which saw a 29% year-over-year increase in August (+3% compared to the average increase recorded for many other types of goods and services).
