Egypt’s annual headline inflation slightly increased in September to 26 percent, up from 25.6 percent in August, while the monthly headline inflation jumped to 2.3 percent, up from 1.9 percent in August, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Wednesday.

CAPMAS attributed the increase in the annual headline inflation mainly to the hike in prices of vegetables (by 12.4 percent); electricity, gas, and fuel materials (by 14.9 percent); medical supplies (by three percent); dairy products, cheese, and eggs (by 2.8 percent); vehicle purchases (by 2.3 percent); organized tourist trips (by 2.3 percent); newspapers, books, and writing tools (by 1.8 percent); and home devices (by 1.5 percent).

The rise in prices also included personal care products (by 1.4 percent), healthcare services (by 1.3 percent), private transportation (by 1.0 percent), and ready meals (by 1.1 percent).

However, hotel services decreased by 0.1 percent.

On a similar note, Egypt’s annual headline inflation increased in August to 25.6 percent, up from 25.2 percent in July, while the monthly headline inflation surged to 1.9 percent, compared to 0.5 percent in July.

Moreover, Egypt's annual core inflation rate accelerated by 0.7 percent in August to 25.1 percent, up from 24.4 percent in July, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

Containing inflation and driving it downward is a key priority for Egypt as part of its $8 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Originally, the CBE set the inflation target at seven percent (±2 percent).

The central bank has also raised the key interest rates by 1900 bps since March 2022 to 19 percent.

Furthermore, it kept the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of main operations unchanged at 27.25 percent, 28.25 percent, and 27.75 percent, respectively.

During its last meeting, the CBE anticipated the inflation rate to decline in the first quarter of 2025 due to the cumulative impact of monetary tightening policies