RIYADH: Food price rises pushed Egypt’s annual headline inflation to an all-time high of 38.2 percent in July, in line with analysts’ expectations, data from the country’s statistics agency CAPMAS has revealed. This rise is an increase on the then-record headline inflation rate recorded in June 2023 of 36.8 percent, and also reflects a 14.6 percent surge compared to July 2022. The median forecast of 15 analysts polled showed annual urban consumer inflation rising to 36.5 percent in July. The previous high of 32.95 percent was recorded in July 2017. An increase in the prices of cereal, bread, meat and dairy led food and beverage prices in the country to rise by an annual 68.2 percent in July, CAPMAS said. Fruits, vegetables and eggs also witnessed a surge in prices. “Food prices were mainly impacted by a 9.1 percent monthly increase in fruit prices and 4.8 percent in vegetable prices, which are largely volatile and are excluded from the core Consumer Price Index,” Sara Saada of CI Capital told Reuters. The prices for clothing and shoes rose by an annual 23.9 percent due to a jump in the prices of textiles, ready-made clothes, among others. Additionally, the prices for housing, electricity, water, gas and fuel recorded an annual increase of 6.9 percent, led by rises in housing rents, maintenance, and repair costs. Medical products and equipment also became more expensive, with the healthcare sector recording an annual increase of 22.6 percent in prices. According to CAPMAS, Egypt’s CPI touched 181.1 points in July 2023, recording a 2 percent increase over June 2023. “We expect inflation to average 32 percent in 2023, with possible upside on the continuation of the implementation of deeper fiscal reforms, including possible higher electricity tariffs and approving new telecom tariffs,” Saada added. In recent months, the Central Bank has tried to contain inflation, raising its primary interest rate and devaluing the local currency. In June, the World Bank revised Egypt’s projected real gross domestic product for the fiscal year 2023-2024 to 4 percent from 4.8 percent in its global economic prospects report. Moreover, on Thursday, the Finance Ministry stated that the weakening of the Egyptian currency against the US dollar is expected to increase the debt-to-GDP ratio to 95.6 percent for the financial year 2022-23. “The decline in the value of the pound against the dollar led to an increase in the value of government debt by EGP 1.3 trillion or 13.1 percent of GDP,” the ministry said. (With input from Reuters)