Egypt's headline inflation jumps to 16.8% in May, CAPMAS says
DUBAI, June 4 (Reuters) - Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation jumped to 16.8% in May from 13.9% in April, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Wednesday.
The rise in headline inflation surpassed Reuters' median forecast of 12 analysts of a rise to 14.9%, driven mainly by an unfavourable base effect.
Annual inflation has plunged from a record high of 38% in September 2023, helped by an $8 billion financial support package signed with the IMF in March 2024.
The fall in inflation led the Central Bank of Egypt to cut its overnight lending rate by 225 basis points to 26.0% at its April 17 meeting, and by another 100 basis points on May 22.
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