CAIRO, Dec 11 – Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation eased to 12.3% in November, down from 12.5 percent in October, according to data released by statistics agency CAPMAS. The reading came in well below the median analyst forecast of 13.1%, providing fresh evidence of cooling price pressures across the economy.
On a month-on-month basis, prices increased by 0.3%, while the food and beverage category, the largest component of the inflation basket rose 0.7% year-on-year but recorded a significant 2.6 percent monthly decline.
Egypt’s inflation has dropped sharply from its record high of 38% in September 2023, supported in part by an $8 billion IMF financing package secured in March 2024. The stabilization has also been accompanied by a deceleration in money supply growth, although M2 expanded 21.68 percent year-on-year in October, according to central bank data.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept its overnight lending rate unchanged at its November 20 meeting, following cuts of 100 basis points in October and 200 basis points in August as inflation continued to moderate. The monetary policy committee is set to review interest rates again on December 25.
