Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rises to 35.7% in June – CAPMAS

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rises to 35.7% in June – CAPMAS

CAIRO - Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation in June rose to a record 35.7% year-on-year from 32.7% in May, data from the country's statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday. Analysts had expected the country's headline inflation rate to jump to an all-time high, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, as an unfavourable base effect and increased demand over the Eid al-Adha holiday kick in. Egypt has devalued its currency by about half since March 2022 after the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine exposed its economic vulnerabilities. In December, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility loan for Egypt to be disbursed over 46 months. However, the first review of the programme has been delayed amid uncertainty over Egypt's pledge to move to a flexible exchange rate. The previous headline inflation record of 32.952% was reached in July 2017, eight months after Egypt devalued its currency by half as part of a previous $12 billion IMF support package. (Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Jamie Freed)