File Photo: Egypt s inflation rate. AP
The monthly headline inflation rate reached 268.1 points in January 2026, rising by 1.5 percent compared to 264.2 points or 0.1 percent in December 2025.
CAPMAS attributed this rise to a month-on-month increase in food and beverage prices by 2.7 percent. Prices of grains and bread by 0.1 percent, meat and poultry by 5.1 percent, fish and seafood by 1.7 percent, as well as dairy, cheese, and eggs by 0.5 percent.
This downward trend was recorded despite a decrease in the price of fruit by 2.5 percent and home appliances by 0.4 percent.
Furthermore, for the annual rate, prices of food and beverages increased by 1.5 percent. CAPMAS attributed this to an increase in grain and bread prices by 2.8 percent, fish and seafood by 6.4 percent, and dairy products, cheese, and eggs by 0.1 percent. This is despite a decrease in the price of meat and poultry by 4 percent.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) forecasted that inflation will decline further in 2026, as the country inches more towards the CBE’s medium-term inflation target of 7 percent ±2 percentage points by the fourth quarter of 2026. The CBE cut its key interest rates by 100 basis points in December 2025, citing easing inflationary pressures and an improved outlook.
The CBE raised its interest rates by six-percent in March 2024, which aimed to contain high inflation, curb spikes in US dollar rates in parallel markets, stabilize prices in the local market, bolster hard currency liquidity, improve remittance inflows, and safeguard Egypt’s monetary stability.
Moreover, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted in October 2025 that Egypt’s inflation rate is expected to fall sharply to 11.8 percent in FY2025/26, from an average of 20.4 percent in FY2024/25.
Egypt has been maintaining an appropriately tight stance in monetary policies, pursuing cautious and gradual easing to support disinflation, according to the IMF.
The moves aim to fulfill conditions of Egypt’s deal with the IMF for its $8 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme and the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which are set to be discussed during the first quarter of 2026, following a staff-level agreement reached in December 2025.
Upon completion of the EFF reviews, Egypt is expected to receive a $2.3 billion financing tranche, including $300 million under the RSF.
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