Economy Egypt’s headline inflation jumps to 16.2% in October 2022 By Reuters November 11, 2022 REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh The central bank expects elevated global and domestic prices to keep headline inflation between 5% and 9% in the final quarter of 2022 Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation accelerated faster than expected in October, climbing to a four-year high of 16.2 percent, data from the statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday. Year-on-year inflation increased to its highest since October 2018, when it hit 17.68 percent, from 15.0 percent in September. Core inflation rose to 19 percent in October from 18 percent the month prior. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of 12 economists had expected inflation of only 15.6 percent. Five economists also forecast that core inflation, due out later on Thursday, would come in at a median 18 percent. The increase reflected a sharp jump in month-on-month inflation, with prices rising 2.6 percent in October compared to 1.6 percent in September, Naeem Brokerage said in a note. The increase was “driven mainly by higher food prices, school tuition fees, and, a noticeable jump in the recreation and culture index”, Naeem wrote. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, after raising interest rates by two percentage points at a special meeting on October 27, said it expected elevated global and domestic prices to keep headline inflation above its target of between five percent and nine percent in the final quarter of 2022. The committee next meets on December 22.
