Egypt’s inflation slowed after three months of acceleration, despite a recent cut in fuel subsidies.
Annual consumer prices in urban areas rose 25.5% in November versus 26.5% the month before, the official statistics agency CAPMAS said Tuesday.
Monthly inflation was 0.5%, lower than the figure of 1.1% in October.
Food and beverage prices, the largest single component of the inflation basket, climbed an annual 24.6% versus 27.3% in October.
A decline in monthly food prices — they fell by 1.9% — and a favorable base effect helped offset the impact of a hike in fuel costs in October as well as recent rise in cigarette prices by Egypt’s main producer.
The third fuel increase this year is part of an International Monetary Fund-backed program that aims to improve government finances and revamp an economy emerging from a foreign-currency crunch.
A key plank of the $8 billion agreement is enacting a flexible exchange rate, following a roughly 40% devaluation in March.
