Inflation in Egypt at 32.9% in latest spike

Inflation in Egypt rose considerably in February, the Egyptian government said on Thursday.

The Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said that annual headline inflation reached 32.9% in February, up from 25.8% in January. The year-on-year increase was even higher. Inflation was just 10% in February last year, according to a press release.

The agency primarily attributed the increase to rising food prices in February:

• meat prices rose 29.7%
• seafood rose 19.5%
• dairy rose 11.1%
• fruit rose 10.8%
• bread prices rose 9.2%
• vegetables rose 5.3%

Why it matters: Inflation in Egypt has risen considerably in the past year, in large part due to the supply chain shocks resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A year into the war, inflation appears to be getting worse. Average Egyptians are struggling with price increases of bread, tomatoes and other basic foods, Amr Emam reported for Al-Monitor from Giza in January.

The Central Bank of Egypt raised interest rates a few times in 2022 in an effort to curb inflation, including in December. However, the bank decided to not raise rates during its February meeting. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said they wanted time to “assess the impact” of previous rate hikes at the time.

What’s next: The Egyptian Central Bank will deliberate again on interest rates on Mar. 30.