Egypt’s annual headline inflation – which includes commodities such as food and energy prices – increased to a new high of 39.7 percent in August, up from 38.2 percent in July, according to data released by the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on 10 September. This is Egypt’s third consecutive record-high since hitting 36.8 percent in June 2023. Prior to this, the country’s highest headline inflation rate had stood at 34.2 percent, a figure recorded in July 2017. Egypt’s annual headline inflation figure in August 2022 was 15.3 percent. The country’s latest inflation figures substantially exceed the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) target of seven percent (±2 percent) set by the fourth quarter of 2024. CAPMAS attributed the spike to significant price hikes in food and beverages (71.9 percent), restaurant and hotel services (49.5 percent), and transportation (15.2 percent). Egypt’s core inflation rate – which does not include volatile items like foods and energy – decreased from 40.7 percent in July to 40.4 percent in August, according to data insights published by the CBE. Taming inflation has been a central goal of the CBE’s monetary policy,…
