Data from the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS) showed on Thursday, June 9, that consumer price inflation in cities rose to 13.5 percent in May year-on-year from 13.1 percent in April, marking the highest inflation level since March 2019.
The country’s overall consumer price index reached in May 130.2 points, a rise of 0.9 percent over April 2022.
The major reasons for this increase, according to the CAPMS, are price increases of 10.9 percent in the cereals and bread category; 6.9 percent in the oils and fats; 5.3 percent in the fish and seafood; 2.3 percent in the fruit category; 1.9 percent in the dairy, cheese, and eggs; 0.7 percent in estimated rent for housing; 26.1 percent in water and other housing services; 2.3 percent in products and services used in home maintenance, and 3.2 percent in frozen meals. This is despite a 15.4 percent price drop in the vegetable category.
In May, price inflation was 1.1 percent month-on-month.
In May 2022, the country’s overall annual inflation rate registered 15.3 percent, compared to 4.9 percent compared in the same period in 2021.
The Egyptian Central Bank’s inflation target ranges between 5 and 7 percent.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly warned that inflation for the first time in decades has become a real and obvious threat for many countries around the world.
Egypt’s Prime Minister stressed the need to adopt other measures to reverse the inflation pattern, most notably ramping up Egypt’s domestic production, as well as exploring untapped potentials to boost available economic resources and enhance the country’s competitiveness in global supply chains.
Egypt’s Central Bank raised interest rates twice since last March to combat inflation, but global increases in food and energy prices have rendered the task harder for both the Bank and the government to contain the situation.
