Egypt’s annual headline inflation soared to an all-time high of 36.8 percent in June, according to data published by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Monday, 10 July. The country’s previous record, 34.2 percent, occurred in July 2017 – triggered by a sharp currency devaluation. The latest data reveals that inflation jumped an additional two percentage points from May’s 34.8 percent, and more than doubled since last year’s 14.7 percent. CAPMAS attributed the significant increase primarily to higher prices of food and beverages, which increased by 1.5 percent monthly and 64.9 percent annually in June. Annual urban consumer headline inflation also rose to a record 35.7 percent. STRUGGLING TO MEET IMF CONDITIONS The USD 3 billion (EGP 68 billion) loan package given to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October 2022 initially intended to decrease inflation through two targets – lowering the average inflation rate to 7 percent by Q4 2024, and then to 5 percent by Q4 2026. However, Egypt continues struggle in meeting the loan’s conditions, as the first review – originally scheduled for completion on 15 March—continues…
