Egypt’s inflation expected to slow in January as food prices fall

Egypt’s headline inflation could slow to 11.7% in January from ‍12.3% in December, analysts polled by Reuters predicted.

The experts cited cooling food prices and transport prices.

Annual inflation has fallen from from a record high of 38% in September 2023, thanks in part to an $8 billion financial support package signed with the IMF in March 2024.

Slowing inflation prompted the central bank to cut its overnight lending ⁠rate by 100 basis points in December. But some analysts fear that increased money supply could send prices soaring again.

Egypt’s economy has been set back by inflation, debt and currency shortages in recent years, and has had to rely on support from wealthy Gulf countries and the IMF.

According to its latest projections released in October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected Egypt’s inflation rate to fall sharply to 11.8 percent in the current FY2025/2026, which ends on 30 June 2026, from an average of 20.4 percent in FY2024/2025.