Egypt: Inflation hits highest level since June in October
Consumer prices increased 1.83% over the previous month in October, picking up from September’s 0.29% rise. October’s reading was the sharpest increase in prices since October 2018. The pick-up was largely driven by rising prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Inflation came in at 4.6% in October, which was up from September’s 3.7%. October’s reading was the highest inflation rate since June. Meanwhile, the trend pointed up mildly, with annual average inflation coming in at 5.0% in October (September: 4.9%). Lastly, core inflation rose to 3.9% from September’s 3.3%.
Regarding October’s reading, Farouk Soussa, economist at Goldman Sachs, commented:
“The increase in inflation in October was surprisingly broad-based, given ongoing weakness in domestic demand and the strengthening of the Pound. Looking ahead, the higher-than-expected October inflation print raises our year-end inflation projection to 5.4%yoy, from a forecast of 4.5% previously.”