Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation rate in March rose to 32.7% year-on-year, from 31.9% in February, according to data from the country’s statistics agency. Month-on-month, urban inflation slowed to 2.7% in March from 6.5% in February.
The increase was driven by a rise in food prices linked to Ramadan-related high seasonal demand, the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in the informal market, and the effect of a raw material shortage.
Egypt has seen surging inflation since 2022 precipitated by currency devaluations, a dollar shortage and difficulties getting imports into the country. The north African country has devalued its currency since March of 2022 as a condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), before granting Cairo a $3 billion bailout loan.