Annual urban headline inflation remained almost flat on an annual basis, thanks to the favorable base effect: Annual urban headline inflation fell to 4.1% in April 2021 from 4.5% in March 2021 and remained below the lower band of the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) target range of 7% ± 2%. The fall was mainly driven by the favorable base-year factors that pushed food inflation to fall in April by 0.2% vs. a +1.1% increase in March. The contribution of non-food inflation remained stable at around +6% y/y in April. Annual inflation in April was mainly driven by the contribution of education, housing utility, and transportation baskets, as their total contribution accounted to 2.5% of the headline figure.
Mona Bedeir
Senior Economist
T +202 3300 5722