Yesterday, data from the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics showed that urban inflation rose to 32.7% in March, on an annual basis, from 31.9% in February.
The rise in inflation was driven by an increase in food and beverage prices by 62.9% year-on-year in March.
The inflation rate in cities increased on a monthly basis in March by 2.7%, and the monthly inflation rate in cities increased in February by 6.5%.
In a related context, the annual inflation rate for the total republic recorded 33.9% for the month of March 2023, compared to 12.1% for the same month of the previous year.
The general consumer price index for the whole Republic reached 166.5 points for the month of March 2023, recording an increase of 3.2% from February 2023.
The most important reasons for this rise are due to the increase in the prices of the cereals and bread group by 6.5%, the meat and poultry group by 5.0%, the fish and seafood group by 4.9%, the dairy, cheese and eggs group by 2.5%, the fruit group by 6.2%, and the vegetables group by 14.0%.
It is noteworthy that Egypt suffers from a rise in the prices of goods and services as a result of the increase in the price of the dollar and its lack of abundance, while the country relies heavily on imports to provide its basic needs.
The Central Bank of Egypt also allowed the devaluation of the pound against the dollar. The exchange rate of the pound reached 32 pounds to the dollar in January, before the currency stabilized above the level of 30 pounds, compared to about 27.65 pounds, which it recorded at the end of the year 2022.
Okaz (Cairo) @okaz_online