Annual urban headline inflation hits lowest rate in 2 years: CBE

Egypt Today

18-02-2025

Cairo – February 18, 2025: According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Egypt's annual urban headline inflation remained stable at 24 percent in January 2025, a slight decrease from 24.1 percent in December 2024.
This marks the lowest inflation rate recorded in two years.
The modest decline was primarily attributed to a reduction in non-food inflation, which fell from 26.7 percent to 26.2 percent. However, this was partially offset by a small rise in food inflation, which increased from 20.3 percent to 20.8 percent.
On a monthly basis, urban headline inflation stood at 1.5 percent in January 2025, slightly lower than 1.6 percent in the same month last year but higher than the 0.2 percent recorded in December 2024.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, continued its downward trajectory, decreasing from 23.2 percent in December 2024 to 22.6 percent in January 2025.
On a monthly basis, core inflation rose by 1.7 percent, reflecting seasonal price increases, particularly for poultry and market rice. These price hikes are typical ahead of the Ramadan season.
Additionally, retail and services inflation saw a modest uptick due to rising costs in clothing, footwear, personal care items, household cleaning products, and higher restaurant and café bills.
Rural headline inflation showed a marginal decline, easing to 22.6 percent from 22.8 percent in December.
Nationwide headline inflation followed a similar trend, inching down from 23.4 percent in December 2024 to 23.2 percent in January 2025.
Significant contributors to inflation included food prices, with fresh fruit prices rising by 5.8 percent, while fresh vegetables saw a slight decrease of 2.3 percent. Poultry prices surged by 10.3 percent, driven by the seasonal pre-Ramadan demand.
Other core food items, including market rice, oils and fats, dairy products, red meat, sugar, pulses, confectionery, and tea, also saw price hikes, adding to inflationary pressures.
Retail items experienced a 2.6 percent increase in prices, primarily due to higher costs in clothing, footwear, personal care products, and household cleaning supplies. Meanwhile, services inflation rose by 0.7 percent, as consumers faced higher expenditures in restaurants, cafés, and rents. Additionally, the cost of regulated items climbed by 1.1 percent, mainly due to recent price increases in pharmaceuticals and tobacco.
The monthly core inflation dynamics were shaped by rising food prices, which contributed 0.93 percentage points to overall inflation. Retail goods accounted for an additional 0.50 percentage points, while services contributed 0.26 percentage points.
With the economy continuing to adjust to seasonal fluctuations and regulatory price changes, inflationary pressures are expected to remain under close scrutiny in the coming months.