Egypt’s annual urban inflation increased to 32.7% during May 2023, compared to 30.6% in April, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The agency said, in a statement on Saturday, that the monthly urban inflation also increased to 2.7% in May, compared to 1.7% in April.
According to the agency, the CPI reached 174.1 points in May 2023, recording an increase of 2.7% from April.
It attributed this rise to the increase in the prices of the cereals and bread group by 4.6%, the meat and poultry group by 2.1%, the fish and seafood group by 9.8%, the dairy, cheese and eggs group by 1.7%, the oils and fats group by 5.9%, and the fruit group by 4.6%. The sugar and sugary foods group accounted for 12.1% of the increase, the coffee, tea and cocoa group accounted for 3.7%, and the smoke group accounted for 5.0%.
The prices of the textiles group also increased by 2.3%, the ready-made clothing group by 2.4%, the shoes group by 0.8%, the shoe repair group by 2.8%, the water group and miscellaneous services related to housing by 0.4%, and the electricity, gas and other fuel materials group by 0.1%.
The prices of the furniture, fixtures, carpets and other floor coverings group also increased by 2.5%, the home furnishings group by 3.5%, the household appliances group by 6.3%, the transportation services group by 5.2%, the cultural and entertainment services group by 1.1%, and the newspapers, books and stationery group by 0.5%. %, ready meals group by 3.7%, hotel services group by 2.5%, personal care group by 2.7%.
The agency indicated that the annual inflation rate for the entire republic was 33.7% in May 2023, compared to 31.5% in the previous April, and 15.3% in May 2022.
The Central Bank of Egypt confirmed earlier that its Monetary Policy Committee will continue to assess the impact of the restrictive monetary policy that was taken, specifically raising interest rates by 10% since March 2022 and raising the compulsory cash reserve ratio by 4% in September 2022, to contain pressures according to the economic data received during the coming period.
And the Monetary Policy Committee had decided, in its meeting held on 18 May, to fix the basic return rates with the Central Bank, at 18.25% for deposits, 19.25% for lending, and 18.75% for the credit and discount rate and the price of the main operation with the Central Bank, which is the level that those prices reached it on 30 March, after raising it by 2% at once.
The Central Bank stated that global commodity price expectations have declined compared to the expectations that were presented to the Monetary Policy Committee at its previous meeting, and the global inflationary pressures have decreased as a result of several factors, including restriction of monetary policies by many central banks, and the decline in international oil prices, in addition to the decline in the intensity of inflation bottlenecks in global supply chains.
The Central Bank affirmed that the path of basic interest rates depends on expected inflation rates and not the prevailing inflation rates, and that maintaining restrictive monetary conditions is a prerequisite for achieving the target inflation rates of 7% (±2%) on average during the fourth quarter of 2024 and 5% (±2%) on average during the fourth quarter of 2026.
It indicated that the Monetary Policy Committee will closely follow the risks surrounding inflation that may result from supply chain disruptions as well as geopolitical tensions and other factors, and will follow all economic developments, and will not hesitate to adjust its policy in order to achieve the goal of price stability.
