Egypt’s headline inflation slows to 30.6 per cent in April

Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation in April slowed to 30.6 per cent from 32.7 per cent in March, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Wednesday, lower than analysts had expected.

Month-on-month, urban inflation slowed to 1.7 per cent from 2.7 per cent in March and 6.5 per cent in February.

Inflation had steadily crept up over the last year after 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 median forecast of 13 analysts polled had suggested annual urban consumer inflation would slip to 31.0 per cent in April.

Egypt has devalued its currency by half since March 2022 after the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed its economic vulnerabilities. The government secured a $3 billion financial support package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December.