Egypt's inflation predicted to slip 10-13% by year-end: Finance Min.

DUBAI – 10 February 2018: Egypt’s inflation is predicted to drop to 10 to 13 percent by the end of the year, Finance Minister Amr el-Garhy said Saturday.

Garhy made this statement to the media on the sidelines of the third annual Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai, organized by the Arab Monetary Fund and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Egypt’s annual inflation rates slipped in January to the lowest levels since the country floated its currency in November 2016, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the state statistics agency CAPMAS.

Annual urban consumer price inflation eased to 17.1 percent in January from 21.9 percent in December.

In July, the inflation hit a record high of around 35 percent on the back of the flotation of the Egyptian pound and a second round of slashing energy subsidies as part of Egypt’s reform program backed by the IMF.

The IMF said in a report last month that it expected inflation to fall to 12 percent by June and to single digits by 2019. It warned against a premature rate cut and urged the CBE to remain vigilant.

Egypt’s central bank has raised key interest rates by 700 basis points since the float to curb soaring inflation.