Egypt’s inflation rises to record 38.2pc

RIYADH, Aug 10 (Arab News): Food price rises pushed Egypt's annual headline inflation to an all-time high of 38.2 per cent in July, in line with analysts' expectations, data from the country's statistics agency CAPMAS has revealed.
This rise is an increase on the then-record headline inflation rate recorded in June 2023 of 36.8 per cent, and also reflects a 14.6 per cent surge compared to July 2022.
The median forecast of 15 analysts polled showed annual urban consumer inflation rising to 36.5 per cent in July. The previous high of 32.95 per cent was recorded in July 2017. An increase in the prices of cereal, bread, meat and dairy led food and beverage prices in the country to rise by an annual 68.2 per cent in July, CAPMAS said.
Fruits, vegetables and eggs also witnessed a surge in prices.
"Food prices were mainly impacted by a 9.1 per cent monthly increase in fruit prices and 4.8 per cent in vegetable prices, which are largely volatile and are excluded from the core Consumer Price Index," Sara Saada of CI Capital told Reuters.
The prices for clothing and shoes rose by an annual 23.9 per cent due to a jump in the prices of textiles, ready-made clothes, among others.