Egypt annual inflation rate inches down to 24% in January

DUBAI (Reuters) - Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation rate inched down to 24% year-on-year in January from 24.1% in December, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday.

That is one percentage point higher than the median of 23% forecast of 17 analysts polled by Reuters last week.

Prices were higher across the board this January compared with January last year.

Food and beverage prices were up by 20.2%, transport by 33.6%, and entertainment by 48% on an annual basis.

Inflation had been climbing since early 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which prompted foreign investors to withdraw billions of dollars from Egyptian treasury markets.

Headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0% in September 2023. By October 2024 it had fallen to 26.5%.

On a monthly basis, headline inflation rose by 1.6% in January, up from 0% in December, CAPMAS data showed.

Food and beverage prices were up by 2.1% month-on-month and healthcare services recorded a 4.6% increase.

Price rises have been fuelled in part by rapid growth in the money supply. M2 money supply expanded by an all-time high of 31.07% in 2024, central bank data showed.

(Reporting by Clauda Tanios; Writing by Tala Ramadan and Mohamed Ezz; Editing by Kim Coghill and Hugh Lawson)

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