Egypt’s annual headline inflation rose by a slight margin in May, despite coronavirus

Egypt’s annual headline inflation rose by 0.1 percent to 107.7 points in May from 107.5 points a month earlier, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The annual inflation rate declined to 4.7 percent The annual inflation rate declined to 4.7 percent in May, staying well below the central bank’s target of 9 percent, plus or minus 3 percentage points, by the end of the fourth quarter.

Inflation in Egypt decelerated to its lowest level since November as authorities battle to offset the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Consumer prices were unchanged on a month-on-month basis. The main drive for the deceleration was a decline in food and beverage costs, the largest single component of the inflation basket.

Food prices fell 0.7 percent in May from a year ago and posted a 0.4 percent decline on a monthly basis according Bloomberg.