The Consumer Price Index recorded a monthly rate of 1.5 percent in July, up from 0.6 percent in the corresponding month of 2021, the CBE added. 

Egypt’s headline annual inflation hiked to 14.6 percent in July – more than double the corresponding month in 2021 – up from 13.2 percent in June, while urban annual inflation rose to 13.6 percent, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistic (CAPMAS) said on Wednesday.

CAPMAS attributed the rise in inflation mainly to the increase in food and beverage 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 surged in July by 0.9 percent compared to June, CAPMAS said. The 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 CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to convene on 18 August to review the key interest rates in light of the latest updates to global and local macroeconomic performances as well as the recent readings on domestic inflation.