The consumer price index (CPI) for August registered an increase of 2% compared to July, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported on Thursday.
CPI is a measure of changes in the purchasing power of currency and the rate of inflation.
The basic inflation prepared by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) recorded a monthly rate of0.61% in August, compared to 0.25% in July. The annual inflation rate increased to 13.25% in August compared to 12.37% in July, according to the CBE.
The statement attributed the increase in the rate of inflation to price hikes across vegetables by 6.4%, meat by 3.3%, sugar and sugary foods by 6.1%, oils and fats by 2.4%, electricity and gas by 27.4%, and transportation services by 3.3%.
The annual inflation rate in August was 16.4% higher than in August 2015.
Food and beverage prices registered an increase of 1.6%, which represents a 0.84% increase in CPI compared to July.
Furniture and home supply products registered an increase of 2.5%, representing a 0.07% increase in CPI compared to July as prices of home appliance increased by 2.3%, in addition to an increase in glassware and cutlery prices by 5%, and goods and services used in home maintenance by 2.7%.
“Housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel services recorded an increase by 6.7%, contributing a rise of 0.85% in CPI compared to July as prices of electricity, gas and other fuel materials increased by 27.4%,” according to CAPMAS.
The statement added that transportation and communications services increased by 2.8%, which represents a 0.10% increase in CPI compared to July as car prices increased by 2.2% and transportation services by 4%.
Varied goods and services prices increased by 2%, which represents a 0.05% increase in CPI compared to July due to the rise in the price of gold by 7.2% and personal care products by 2.2%.
