Banking & Finance Egypt may postpone sovereign sukuk issue to its new fiscal year By Reuters June 13, 2022 Creative Commons The news comes as Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation accelerated to a slower-than-expected 13.5 percent year-on-year in May Egypt may postpone the issuance of its first sovereign sukuk till its new fiscal year due to turmoil in global markets, Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia TV reported on Sunday citing Finance Minister Mohamed Maiit. Egypt’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. The news comes as Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation accelerated to a slower-than-expected 13.5 percent year-on-year in May, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday. The inflation figure, up from 13.1 percent in April, fell short of a median forecast of 14.2 percent in a Reuters poll of 17 analysts. The increased inflation could nevertheless impact the central bank’s monetary policy committee when it meets on June 23. Citing rising inflation, the committee raised its interest rates by 200 basis points at its last meeting on May 19. At the time, the committee said it would temporarily tolerate an inflation rate that was higher than its target of between 5 percent and 9 percent in the expectation that price increases would slow after the fourth quarter. Core inflation increased to 13.3 percent year on year in May from 11.9 percent in April, data from the central bank showed. Monthly urban consumer inflation, at 1.1 percent, “was impacted by food items such as bread and cereals, oils and fats and seafood, offsetting the sharp drop in vegetable prices and the favorable base year impact,” said Allen Sandeep of Naeem Research.
