CAIRO, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation slightly accelerated to 5.9% year on year in December from 5.6% in November, data from the country’s state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday.
Month-on-month, the headline indicator showed inflation at -0.1% compared to 0.1% a month prior, the agency said.
The annual rate remains within the 5-9% target range set by the central bank which kept its key interest rates unchanged during a regular monetary policy committee meeting on Dec. 16. read more
“Egypt’s annual inflation rate (urban CPI) increased … at a slower than anticipated pace, impacted by a steeper Month on Month decline in the food index,” Naeem Brokerage said in an analyst note. The company was expecting the rate to accelerate to 6.3%.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food, increased to 6% year on year in December from 5.8% in November, the central bank said on Monday.
Egypt’s economy has roared back after sagging during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product shot up by 9.8% year on year in the July-September quarter, up from 0.7% a year earlier, planning ministry data showed.
