Egypt: Inflation declines in April
Inflation continued to slow in April, coming in at 32.6%, which was down from March’s 33.4%. April’s reading represented the weakest inflation rate since January, but was still over three times above the upper bound of the Central Bank of Egypt’s 5.0–9.0% target band. The moderation largely met market expectations. Looking at the details of the release, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages—which account for roughly 40% of the CPI basket—rose at a softer pace in April. Conversely, prices for transportation grew at a faster pace.
Still, the trend pointed up slightly, with annual average inflation coming in at 34.5% in April (March: 34.4%). Meanwhile, core inflation fell to 31.8% in April, from the previous month’s 33.7%.
Lastly, consumer prices rose 1.06% from the previous month in April, picking up from the 0.98% increase seen in March.