Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s minister of finance Amr El Garhy has forecast that inflation would drop to around 20% by early February 2018.
The top official told Reuters on Sunday that he expects inflation to range between 13% and 14% by August next year.
The stability of the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, at around 1% for four months in a row is a positive indicator of inflation over the year.
Earlier on Sunday, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said that Egypt’s inflation surged to 26.7% year-on-year in November 2017 from 20.2%.
CAPMAS ascribed the inflation hike to the price increases of several cigarette brands, apparel, and shoes by 11.4%, 12.9%, and 13.8%, respectively.
Egypt's core inflation last rose to 31.8% year-on-year in October 2017.
Egypt’s inflation has been on the rise since the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) liberalised the local currency against the dollar, followed by price hikes in fuel and electricity.
