Egypt’s inflation rate reached a new high of 38% in September, exceeding predictions.
Reuters reported that according to figures from the statistics office CAPMAS, the annual rate of urban consumer price inflation recorded a significant increase from August’s 37.4%.
According to information on the central bank website, which includes statistics going back to 2000, this increase in inflation represents the fourth month in a row that record highs have been reached.
The cost of food and beverages was one of the main factors causing this inflationary tendency. In a survey of 18 analysts, the consensus projection indicated that annual urban consumer inflation would increase to 37.6% in September.
Prior to the June inflation rise, the previous peak was 32.95%, which was registered in July 2017. According to Allen Sandeep of Naeem Brokerage, monthly inflation surged, with prices rising by 2.0% in September as opposed to 1.6% in August.
Since June, this represents the quickest rate of growth. The rapid expansion of the money supply over the previous two years contributed significantly to the sharp price increases, which caused the Egyptian pound to depreciate by almost 50% against the US dollar since March 2022, badly hurting the living conditions of many Egyptians.
With a 3.6% month-over-month increase in September, the price of food and beverages increased dramatically. According to Sandeep, this includes increases in the cost of vegetables by 19.2%, fruits by 5.4%, dairy goods by 5.4%, and sugar products by 2.9%.
The government declared on Monday that it had achieved an agreement with private producers and merchants to decrease the cost of basic foods by 15–25% and exempt them from customs charges for a period of six months in an effort to battle food inflation.
According to the central bank, core inflation, which does not include volatile commodities like food and fuel, significantly decreased to 39.7% in September from 40.4% in August.
