Egypt’s Inflation Trends in January 2024

DUBAI (Reuters) – Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate inched down to 24% year-on-year in January from 24.1% in December, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday.

That is one percentage point higher than the median of 23% forecast of 17 analysts polled by Reuters last week.

Prices were higher across the board this January compared with January last year:
– Food and beverage prices were up by 20.2%
– Transport by 33.6%
– Entertainment by 48% on an annual basis.

Inflation had been climbing since early 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prompting foreign investors to withdraw billions of dollars from Egyptian treasury markets.

Headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0% in September 2023. By October 2024, it had fallen to 26.5%.

On a monthly basis, headline inflation rose by 1.6% in January, up from 0% in December, CAPMAS data showed.

Food and beverage prices were up by 2.1% month-on-month and healthcare services recorded a 4.6% increase.

Price rises have been fueled in part by rapid growth in the money supply. M2 money supply expanded by an all-time high of 31.07% in 2024, central bank data showed.