Egypt’s annual urban headline inflation declined to 11.7% in September 2025, down from 12% in August, marking the fourth consecutive month of moderation, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). This deceleration was primarily driven by a sharp slowdown in annual food inflation, which dropped to 1.4% in September—its lowest level since April 2021.
While food inflation eased significantly, non-food inflation remained relatively stable. It has hovered around 20.8% since the beginning of the year and recorded 19.1% in September. However, annual core inflation—which excludes volatile items such as food and energy—accelerated to 11.3% in September from 10.7% in August. This uptick was largely attributed to rising services inflation, most notably a 12% increase in rents. Monthly core inflation reached 1.5%, compared to 1.0% in the same month last year.
Monthly urban headline inflation recorded a rate of 1.8% in September 2025, slightly below the 2.1% registered in September 2024. This monthly increase was mainly driven by higher prices for fresh fruits and vegetables as well as services.
In rural areas, headline inflation also eased, falling to 8.9% in September from 10.3% in August. On a national level, annual headline inflation declined to 10.3%, compared to 11.2% the previous month.
Despite the annual slowdown in food inflation, monthly food inflation rose to 2% in September. This increase contributed 0.7% to the monthly headline inflation rate. The rise was mainly due to increases in prices of volatile food items, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruit prices increased by 5.6%, while fresh vegetables rose by 15.5%. Egg prices also increased by 5.7%, contributing further to the monthly rate.
Services prices climbed by 3.2% in September, contributing 0.89% to monthly headline inflation. The notable rise in rents accounted for 0.74% of this figure, alongside increased spending in restaurants and cafés.
Retail item prices rose by 0.8% during the month, contributing 0.11%. This was mainly due to higher prices of household appliances, cleaning supplies, and personal care products, in addition to seasonal increases in clothing, stationery, and school supplies associated with the start of the academic year.
Regulated prices saw a smaller increase of 0.3%, contributing 0.07% to monthly inflation. This was driven by a 0.8% rise in tobacco prices and a 1.1% increase in the price of LPG butane gas cylinders.
Monthly core inflation reflected the cumulative impact of these developments, recording 1.5% in September. The main driver was the services category, which contributed 1.2%, followed by retail items and core food, contributing 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.
