The annual inflation rate for urban consumer prices in Egypt increased to 5.9% from 5.6% in November, the country’s state statistics agency, Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), reported on Monday.
Compared with a month earlier, the headline indicator showed inflation at -0.1%, the agency said.
The annual rate remains within the key interest rate target range of 5-9% set by the central bank at its meeting of the monetary policy committee on Dec. 16
“Egypt’s annual inflation rate (urban CPI) increased … at a slower than anticipated pace, impacted by a steeper Month on Month decline in the food index,” Naeem Brokerage said in an analyst note.
The company expected the rate to accelerate to 6.3%.
Compared with November, core inflation, which omits volatile items like food, rose from 5.8% to 6% in December, the central bank said.
After sagging for the worst part of the Coronavirus epidemic, Egypt’s economy has roared back to life once again. Data from the planning ministry shows that the gross domestic product increased by 9.8% year on year in the July-September quarter, up from 0.7% a year earlier.