Egypt: Inflation slows in March
Consumer prices were increased 0.6% in March compared to the previous month, up compared to the flat reading in February. March’s reading was mainly due to a higher valued-added tax on tobacco products.
Inflation decelerated to 5.1% in March from 5.3% in February, falling further below the Central Bank’s Q4 CY 2020 target range of 6.0%–12.0%. Annual average inflation slowed to 7.3% from 8.0%.
Core consumer prices—which do not include volatile prices such as food prices—increased 0.4% in March from the previous month, up from the 0.2% increase logged in February. Core inflation, meanwhile, was unchanged at 1.9%.