Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation falls to 15.7%

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation dipped to 15.7 percent in November from 17.7 percent in October, the official statistics agency CAPMAS said on Monday, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The rate had been increasing steadily since August, reflecting the impact of the government’s fuel, electricity and transportation subsidy cuts that helped it meet the terms of its $12 billion (R171bn) IMF loan.

“We did not expect the rate to decline like this,” said Radwa El-Swaify, head of research at Pharos Securities Brokerage.

Inflation had spiked in October due to supply problems in the domestic fruit and vegetable market.