Egypt's annual core inflation soars to 21.5% in November: CBE

The annual core inflation rate recorded 21.5 percent in November 2022, compared to 19 percent in October 2022, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement on Thursday.

On a monthly basis, the core inflation recorded 2.7 percent in November 2022, compared to 0.5 percent in the same month of the previous year and to 2 percent in October 2022, the statement added.

Earlier today, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported that urban consumer inflation jumped from 16.2 in October to register 18.7 percent in November  - the highest figure since recording 21.9 percent in December 2017.

Meanwhile, CAPMAS added that the annual headline inflation rate rose to 19.2 percent in November 2022 up from 6.2 percent in November 2021.

The country’s monthly inflation rate rose by 2.5 percent in November (hitting 140.7 points) compared to October of this year. 

Vegetable prices rose by 7.8 percent, dairy (cheese and eggs) by 5.5 percent, and cereals and bread by 4.8 percent.

Prices of fish and seafood rose by 3.7 percent and meat and poultry by 6.8 percent, according to CAPMAS.

Egypt's headline inflation has been accelerating in the double digits’ zone since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February.

The Egyptian pound lost 36 percent of its value in recent months after the CBE ushered two currency devaluations in 2022, announcing the adoption of a more flexible exchange-rate regime.

In tandem, the CBE raised key interest rates three times (by a total of five percent) to rein in inflation.

The central bank also set an index for Egypt’s currency that will be linked to a basket of gold and other currencies besides the US dollar. 

The bank's Monetary Policy Committee, which still has one more scheduled meeting this year on 22 December, will convene to reassess interest rates.