Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation rate in February leapt to a higher-than-expected 31.9 per cent, its highest in five and a half years, from 25.8 per cent in January, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday.

The soaring inflation follows a series of currency devaluations starting in March 2022, a prolonged shortage of foreign currency and continuing delays in getting imports into the country.

The Egyptian pound has fallen by nearly 50 per cent since March.

February inflation was the highest since August 2017, nine months after another steep devaluation, when it reached 31.92 per cent.

Economists had expected a reading of 26.7 per cent, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 14.

Six analysts forecast that core inflation, due to be released later on Thursday, would climb to 32.85 per cent from 31.24 per cent in January.

The high February inflation number adds renewed pressure on the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise interest rates when it meets on March 30.