The monthly headline inflation rate increased by 2.7 percent, reaching 275.2 points in February 2026, compared to 268.1 points in January 2026.
CAPMAS attributed this rise to a 2.8 percent month-on-month increase in food and beverages, as meat and poultry prices rose by 9 percent. Prices of dairy, cheese, and eggs increased by 0.5 percent, while oils and fats increased by 0.5 percent and vegetables by 3.8 percent.
This upward trend was recorded despite a monthly decrease in the price of grains and bread by 1.3 percent, fruit by 3 percent, sugar and confectionery by 0.1 percent, as well as coffee, tea, and cocoa by 0.2 percent.
Moreover, as for the annual rate, prices of food and beverages increased by 3.9 percent in February 2026. CAPMAS said this was due to an increase in grain and bread prices by 0.6 percent, meat and poultry by 1.5 percent, fish and seafood by 6.4 percent, and oil and fat products by 2.3 percent. This is despite a decrease in the price of dairy, cheese, and eggs by 0.2 percent.
This is despite predictions from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) that inflation will further decline in 2026, and that Egypt is getting closer to achieving the bank’s inflation target of 7 percent ±2 percentage points by the end of the year.
While recovery in GDP over the medium term is expected to rise further to 5.1 percent in FY2025/2026 and 5.5 percent in FY2026/2027, which starts on 1 July 2026.
Furthermore, CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee cut its key policy rates by 100 basis points at its latest meeting in February. This was intended to support monetary policy transmission and maintain currency liquidity conditions matching the inflation target.
This was done on the back of declining inflationary pressures at the time and the evolving economic outlook since the bank's previous meeting, while global economic growth remains relatively resilient, risks remain due to geopolitical tensions and trade policy uncertainty.
This move is also a part of Egypt’s agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including the fifth and sixth reviews for the $8 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which were concluded in February.
The approved reviews unlock about $2.27 billion in financing, aimed at supporting Egypt’s foreign reserves, fiscal consolidation efforts, and structural reforms amid strong economic growth, as well as declining inflation.
The IMF had predicted in October 2025 that Egypt’s inflation rate was expected to fall sharply to 11.8 percent in FY2025/26. Down from an average of 20.4 percent in FY2024/25.
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