Egypt: Inflation accelerates in June amid government subsidy cuts
In June, urban consumer prices rose 3.46% from the previous month, substantially more than May’s 0.17% increase. June’s increase was driven by higher prices for food, but also reflected recent fiscal tightening measures enacted by the government: On 2 June, the price of piped drinking water was increased by nearly 50%; electricity prices were hiked on 19 June; and subsidies were cut for a range of energy products on 23 June.
Urban inflation accelerated in June to 14.4%, up from 11.4% in May and ending the ten-month run of slowing inflation. Urban core inflation decelerated to 10.9% in June from 11.1% in May. Meanwhile, annual average inflation decelerated to 20.9% in June from 22.1% in May.