Egypt: Inflation slows to a 14-year low in October
Consumer price growth in month-on-month terms accelerated to 1.0% in October from September’s flat reading. October’s reading was supported by a sharp increase in education prices, although lower food and beverage prices had the opposite effect.
Inflation slowed to 3.1% in October, down from 4.8% in September, which represents the lowest reading since October 2005. As a result, October’s reading fell further below the Central Bank’s Q4 CY 2020 target range of 6.0% to 12.0%.
Core inflation, which excludes energy prices, picked up to 2.7% in October from 2.6% in September. Average inflation over the past 12 months moderated to 10.6% in October from 11.9% in September.
Commenting on the outlook, Farouk Soussa, MENA economist at Goldman Sachs, said: “Going forward, our inflation outlook projects the headline number climbing back towards CBE’s inflation target (9.0%yoy±3pp) by year-end, as the favourable base effects wear off”.