Egypt's Inflation Rate Drops

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation rate dropped more than expected to 25.5% in November, its lowest since December 2022, according to data from the statistics agency CAPMAS.

Inflation began climbing drastically in early 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led foreign investors to withdraw billions from Egyptian treasury markets.

Headline inflation peaked at a record high of 38.0% in September 2023 and fell to 26.5% by October 2024.

A Reuters poll of 15 analysts had expected inflation to decrease to 26.4% last month.

On a monthly basis, headline inflation rose by 0.5% in November, down from 1.1% in October, as reported by CAPMAS.

Food prices dropped by 2.8% compared to October, standing 23.3% higher year-on-year.

The inflation surge has been largely fueled by an expansion of the money supply. Egypt's M2 money supply grew by 29.54% year-on-year in October, according to central bank data.