Egypt’s annual headline inflation rate doubled in October to reach 4.5 percent, up from 2.4 percent in October 2019, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Tuesday.

The monthly inflation rate recorded 1.8 percent as well.

The notable increase in the annual headline inflation rate is driven by a surge in school and university fees by 20 percent, in addition to the increase in the price of utilities and ready-garments in domestic markets, and the huge increase in the prices of other activities, according to CAPMAS.

The announced figure came in the limit range that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has set by 9 percent (plus or minus 3 percent).

In October, CAPMAS said that the country’s annual headline inflation rate declined to 3.3 percent, down from 3.6 percent in July, and 6 percent in June.

In its latest report on the MENA region’s economic outlook, released in November, Fitch Solutions expected Egypt’s inflation rate to record 5.9 percent, while it projected the CBE to keep the current interest rates at 9.75 percent until the end of 2020.

On Thursday, the Monetary Policy Committee at the CBE is expected to review the key interest rates in light of the global and domestic updates, amid expectations that CBE is likely to introduce a 0.5 percent cut.

After slashing them by 3 percent (300 basis points - bps) in March in the wake of the pandemic outbreak, CBE cut the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation by 0.5 percent (50 bps) to 8.75 percent, 9.75 percent, and 9.25 percent, respectively, bringing the total cuts over 2020 to 3.5 percent.

The discount rate was also cut by 50 bps to 9.25 percent.