Egypt Inflation Maintains Falling Trend

Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer affirmed in a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly that the country will continue to contain inflation and that its general annual rate decreased in July, supported by the positive impact of the base period. He added that the annual rate of core inflation fell to the lowest recorded rate in history.

Amer pointed to the decline in the annual rate of urban inflation to 4.2 % in July 2020, after it rose to 5.6 % in June from 4.7 % in May. Amer revealed that the annual rate of general inflation has continued to record one-digit rates since June 2019 and has remained below 6 % since February 2020.

He pointed out the decline in the annual rate of core inflation for the third month in a row to a record 0.7 % in July 2020 from 1 % in June and 1.5 % in May. He said that the annual rate of general inflation is expected to reach 6.2 % on average during the fourth quarter of 2020. The central bank set the inflation target at 9 % (±3 %), cutting interest rates by 300 basis points in March, and has not changed it since.