Egypt’s inflation rate, which stood around 30 percent in May, is expected to rise by between 3 and 4.5 percentage points following last week’s fuel price hike, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kojak told Reuters last week. On 25 July, Egypt increased fuel prices by up to 50 percent to help meet the terms of a USD 12 billion (EGP 579.12 billion) International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan agreement. After the central bank floated the pound currency in November as part of the IMF deal, Egypt’s inflation hit a three-decade high. Despite the inflation rate slowing for the fourth consecutive month to 27.5 percent in June, down from 28.1 percent in May, it remains significantly higher than the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) target range of 5 percent to 9 percent by the end of the year. The recent decline in inflation does not mean a reduction in the prices of goods but rather a slower rate of increase compared to the same month the previous year. According to the Arab Monetary Fund, Egypt’s inflation rate is projected to be 27 percent in 2024, slowing to 18 percent in 2025 due to…
