By: Heba El-Kordy
Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s annual inflation rate rose in August for the seventh consecutive month, pressured by five main factors.
Earlier this morning, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that Egypt’s annual inflation fell to 13.6% year-on-year in August from 33.2%.
The hike in inflation rate was mainly driven by five main reasons represented by an increase in the prices of vegetables by 8%, in addition to poultry and meat price hikes by 8% and 1.4%, respectively.
The consumer price index (CPI) recorded 294.9 points last month, versus 289.9 points in July.
The prices of fruits rose by 4.9% in August, which pushed some people to boycott buying fruits under the campaign named “Let It Rot” in a bid to force traders to cut fruit prices.
Moreover, dairy products and egg prices increased by 1.3%, while gas prices grew by 5.5%.
In August, the state-run statistics agency said that Egypt’s annual inflation slumped to 13% in July, from 34.2% in the same month a year earlier.
The Egyptian government decided to raise natural gas prices to 75% as of 1 August.
In July, planning minister Hala El Said stated that Egypt’s inflation rate was likely to rise within the next two months due to fuel price hikes.
It is worth noting that National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) projected inflation rate in the North African nation to reach 10% in fiscal year 2018/2019.
Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din
