Egypt’s annual inflation registered 7.5 per cent in October, a significant dip from September's figure of 8.5 per cent, according to the Central Agency for Statistics and Mobilisation (CAPMAS).

Urban consumer price inflation, the most closely watched indicator, also eased to 7.1 per cent in the 12 months to October, down from 8.5 per cent in September.

Food prices, which account for 44 per cent of Egypt's consumer price index, dropped 0.5 per cent below September’s level. The annual increase in food prices dropped to 8.7 per cent in October from 8.9 in September.

The drop in inflation is in line with earlier forecasts which expected the fall in September and October to rebound in November and December.

Mohamed Abu Basha, an economist at EFG-Hermes in Cairo told Reuters last month that inflationary pressures still existed, mostly due to persistent food market inefficiencies and a lack of regulation in production rather than any rise in household incomes.

For his part, head of CAPMAS, Abu Bakr El-Gendy, attributed October's inflation slide to weakening purchasing power in Egypt's markets as well as the general economic slowdown.

The urban consumer price index for October was 119.2 a slight growth of 0.3 per cent in September, official figures showed Thursday.