Staff of Reuters 2 minutes Read this article (Adds analyst comment) CAIRO, Egypt, July 8 (Reuters) – Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation increased to 4.9 percent in June from 4.8 percent in May, according to state statistics agency CAPMAS, a slower rate than projected. The agency reported that month-on-month inflation fell to 0.2 percent from 0.7 percent in May. According to Allen Sandeep of Naeem Brokerage, the recent figures are due to a reduction in monthly food inflation. However, after an average 15% increase in power rates this month and the possibility of a fuel price hike, he warned, inflation could go up in July and August. Egypt’s central bank has set a target inflation rate of 7%, plus or minus 2%, for the coming year. “The statistics are lower than projected and also lower than the central bank’s aim, particularly given the surge in global commodity prices,” Pharos Securities Brokerage’s Radwa El-Swaify said. The central bank last reduced interest rates in November, and its next interest rate meeting is scheduled for August 5. (Ehab Farouk and Aidan Lewis contributed reporting.) Mark Potter and Barbara Lewis edited the piece.)/n
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