11 Apr 2022

CAPMAS (The Center for Public Mobilization & Statistics) released official inflation figures for March 2022, showing headline (urban) inflation rising to 10.5%. The reading for February 2022 was 8.8%. Monthly inflation was 2.2% MoM. The increase in inflation was attributed to the economic repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, heightened global demand as economies recover from the Covid pandemic, and global supply chain disruptions resulting in soaring shipping costs. The key driver of inflation was food and beverage prices, rising by a whopping 33% YoY. Nationwide inflation also rose to 12.1% in March 2022, recording its highest level in nearly three years. The figure for February 2022 was 10.0%. Core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food, registered 10.1%, up from 7.2% in February 2022. One of the government’s responses to rising inflation was to temporarily fix prices for unsubsidized bread while working to secure wheat supplies from countries other than Russia and Ukraine, whose exports were disrupted due to the conflict between them. Egypt consumes a large amount of wheat, primarily for bread, and is one of the biggest importers worldwide. Other initial government responses were a lowering of public investments and the CBE’s hikes in interest rates. (Sources: Reuters (English), AP News (English), Zawya (English) (Arabic), al-Ahram (English), Egypt Today (English), Business Today Egypt (English), See News (English), al-Sharq al-Awsat (English) (Arabic), Amwal al-Ghad, Mubasher, Hapi Journal, Economy Plus Me, al-Shurouk, alDustour, Masrawy, CNBC Arabia, al-Arabiya, RT)