CAPMAS attributed the rise in these figures mainly to the increase in food and beverages prices that rose by 23.8 percent, along with increases in commodity and services prices; including clothes (9.9 percent), education (13.9 percent), culture and entertainment (27 percent), and transport (15.4 percent).

The headline monthly inflation also edged up in July by 0.9 percent compared to June, CAPMAS said. This increase came as a result of the rise in prices of grains and bread by one percent; milk, eggs and dairy by 5.2 percent; fruits by 7.5 percent; and private transportation by nine percent.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is scheduled to convene on 18 August to review the key interest rates in light of the latest updates to global and local macroeconomic performance as well as the recent readings on domestic inflation.

In July, for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, the CBE maintained the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation at 11.25 percent, 12.25 percent and 11.75 percent, respectively. The CBE also kept the discount rate at 11.75 percent.

The CBE explained in July that global economic activity has decelerated due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In its July meeting, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) hiked the benchmark interest rates for the fourth time in 2022 by 0.75 percent, making it the second consecutive time the Fed increased rates by three-quarters of a percentage point as a way to curb the global inflationary wave.

The Fed is considering introducing further 0.75 percent hike in its September meeting.