Egypt's annual core inflation records 13.3% in May: CBE

CAIRO – 9 June 2022: The annual core inflation rate recorded 13.3 percent in May 2022, compared to 11.9 percent in April 2022, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement Thursday.

 

 

The Consumer Price Index in Egypt has recorded a monthly rate of 1.6 percent in May, compared to 0.3 percent for the same month last year, and to 2.4 percent in April 2022, the statement added.

 

 

Core inflation discounts or strips out certain categories that are considered more volatile.

 

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said earlier that Egypt’s annual consumer price inflation rose for the sixth month in a row to hit 15.3 percent during May, compared to 14.9 percent in April 2022, and 4.9 percent in the same month of 2021.

 

As for urban inflation, it exceeded the Central Bank of Egypt’s targets, as it rose to 13.5 percent during May, compared to 13.1 percent in April.

 

The Central Bank of Egypt aims to achieve an inflation rate of 7 percent (±2) percentage points on average during the fourth quarter of 2022.

 

On a monthly basis, inflation recorded 130.2 points in May 2022,  recording a 3.9 percent increase compared to April 2022, the CAPMAS said.

 

 

CAPMAS attributed the increase in inflation to the increase in the prices of the cereals and bread group by 10.9 percent, the oils and fats group by 6.9 percent, the fish and seafood group by 5.3 percent, the fruits group by 2.3 percent, and the dairy, cheese and eggs group by 1.9 percent.

 

 

This is in addition to an increase in the calculated rent group for the house 0.7 percent, the water group and various services related to the house by  26.1 percent, the goods and services used in home maintenance by 2.3 percent, and the ready meals group by 3.2 percent.

 

This is despite the decrease in the prices of vegetables by 15.4 percent.

 

 

The acceleration of inflation comes against the backdrop of the rise in commodity prices around the world. It should be noted that Egypt is the largest importer of wheat in the world, and was severely affected by the rise in its price globally due to the war in Ukraine.