Annual inflation rates increase 1.7% to reach 13.9% in February 2019: CAPMAS

Hossam Mounir
2 Min Read
TO GO WITH AFP WORLD INFLATION SERIES: An Egyptian woman looks at goods at a supermarket in Cairo on March 12, 2008. The Egyptian government has been struggling to tackle a growing tide of discontent over the sky-rocketing prices of goods. Last week, the authorities announced plans to suspend rice exports for six months from April and the commerce ministry said cement exports will also be frozen over the same period in a bid to combat price rises. Official figures show staple food prices spiralling in Egypt, the world's largest consumer of bread, by 26.5 percent in a year. AFP PHOTO/ KHALED DESOUKI

The annual inflation rates increased 1.7% to reach 13.9% in February 2019, compared to 12.2% in
January 2019, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The annual inflation rate recorded 14.3% in February 2018.
Moreover, the monthly core CPI inflation, computed by the Central Bank of Egypt, recorded 1%
in February 2019 compared to 0.4% in January 2019, while the annual core inflation rate
recorded 9.2% in February 2019 compared to 8.6% in January 2019.
The CAPMAS explained in its monthly report that the general consumer price index for the entire country
recorded an increase of 1.8% compared to January 2019. The monthly inflation rate recorded 0.8% in
January 2019.
The agency attributed this increase in inflation to the increase in the prices of vegetables by 8%, poultry
by 9.8%, and dairy, cheese and eggs by 1%.
The increase in the annual inflation rate is the second consecutive increase after a decline in November
and December 2018. Annual inflation started declining noticeably starting from November 2017 until May
2018 before increasing again in June 2018 with increase gas prices.
Annual inflation recorded major leaps in 2017, affected by the measures of the reform programme
implemented by the government over the past two years, reaching its peak in July 2017 when it recorded
34.2%.

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