RIYADH: A drop in the price of cereals, bread, and vegetables saw Egypt’s urban consumer price inflation rate slow to 33.1 percent in March from 36 percent in February. Data released from the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics showed that month-on-month prices rose by 10 percent in the third month of 2024, down from an 11.4 percent increase in the previous period. This follows the central bank’s announcement in early March that it had hiked interest rates by 600 basis points at an unscheduled meeting and would allow the exchange rate to be set by market forces as it shifted to an inflation-targeting regime. The decrease in figures was mainly attributed to a 0.3 percent drop in the price of cereals and bread and a 3.5 percent decline in vegetables compared to February numbers. Despite this, certain categories recorded an increase in prices, such as meat and poultry by 2.3 percent and fish and seafood by 2.3 percent in comparison to the previous month. On a similar note, CAPMAS also issued new data that indicates the monthly production index of manufacturing and extractive industries declined 5.45 percent in January to 92.85, compared to 98.20 in December. The index is a short-term indicator that expresses developments in industrial production values during the study period, with the exception of crude oil and petroleum products. For the economic activities that witnessed a surge, the analysis showed that the index for the beverage industry rose to 225.74 during January to reach 182.81, recording a 23.48 percent jump from December figures. In the same upward trend, the chemical materials and products industry reached 78.76 during January, reflecting a 5.17 percent monthly climb. As for the economic activities that recorded a decrease, the index for electrical appliances dropped 16.60 percent month over month due to the unavailability of necessary raw materials, reaching 106.39 in January. Meanwhile, the basic metals industry achieved 52.48 during January, reflecting a decrease of 12.95 percent. In late March, Egypt received approval from the International Monetary Fund’s executive board for an expanded $8 billion financial support program that enables the immediate release of $820 million. “A strong economic stabilization plan is being implemented to correct policy slippages,” the IMF said in a statement, focusing on a liberalized foreign exchange system, tightening of fiscal and monetary policy as well as reduced public investment and greater space for the private sector.