Egypt's Annual Inflation Eases to 12.7% as Food Prices Fall
Headline inflation slipped from 13% in July, with food and beverage prices down 1.2% on the month and the consumer price index unchanged.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Egypt's annual headline inflation eased to 12.7% in August 2026 from 13% in July, helped by a 1.2% month-on-month fall in food and beverage prices, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics released Thursday.
The general consumer price index reached 289.8 points in August, unchanged from the previous month. Headline inflation was therefore flat on the month, with the retreat in food prices cancelling out increases recorded across most other spending categories. Annual urban inflation, the measure policymakers follow closely, slowed to 14.5% from 14.9% in July.
Annual figures compare prices with the same month a year earlier. Monthly figures compare them with the preceding month.
Food and beverages
Food and beverages fell 1.2% overall, a decline that fed into the headline number. Meat and poultry prices dropped 1.5% from July, while cereals and bread, and fish and seafood, each slipped 0.1%. Vegetables fell 7%, the deepest decline in the division.
Other items moved the opposite way. Dairy, cheese and eggs rose 1.3%, and oils and fats, along with sugar and sugary foods, each added 0.3%. Fruit edged up 0.2%, coffee, tea and cocoa 0.4%, and mineral water, carbonated water and natural juices 2.7%.
Housing, clothing and services
Housing, water, electricity and gas recorded the largest monthly increase among the main divisions, rising 1.9%. Actual rents went up 0.8% and house maintenance and repair costs 0.5%, while electricity, gas and fuel prices climbed 4.3%.
Clothing and footwear advanced 0.5%, with fabric up 0.8%, ready-made clothing up 0.5% and clothing and accessories up 0.6%. Furniture, fittings and home equipment gained 0.7%, as home furnishings, home appliances, and glassware, tableware and household utensils all rose.
Healthcare increased 0.4%, lifted by medical products, devices and equipment, outpatient services and hospital services. Transport and communications edged up 0.2%, with vehicle purchase prices up 0.9% and transport services up 0.1%. Restaurants and hotels rose 0.5%, as ready meals and hotel services each gained 0.5%.
Private sector and reserves
A separate survey pointed to a slower contraction in Egypt's non-oil private sector. S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 49.6 in August from 46.8 in July, a seven-month high, though still below the 50 threshold that separates expansion from decline. The reading indicates business conditions deteriorated only marginally.
Foreign currency reserves continued to build. Net international reserves increased by $920.6 million in August to a record $57.2 billion, extending a steady rise through the year.
