Egypt to Raise Subsidized Bread Price by 300%, PM Says

A young boy delivers freshly-baked bread in the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
A young boy delivers freshly-baked bread in the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
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Egypt to Raise Subsidized Bread Price by 300%, PM Says

A young boy delivers freshly-baked bread in the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on May 28, 2024. (AFP)
A young boy delivers freshly-baked bread in the al-Darb al-Ahmar district in the old quarters of Cairo on May 28, 2024. (AFP)

Egypt, often the world's biggest wheat importer, will raise the price of heavily subsidized bread for the first time in decades, a sensitive decision that has been delayed for years.

The price of subsidized bread will jump 300% to 20 piasters ($0.0042) from 5 piasters starting in June, Prime Minster Mostafa Madbouly said at a press conference on Wednesday.

About two-thirds of Egypt's population benefit from a program that gives 5 loaves of round bread daily for 5 piasters a loaf.

The handout is a lifeline to the poor, but is often criticized as wasteful and a strain on the budget.

The announcement comes after Egypt allowed a sharp devaluation of its currency in March and shifted to a flexible exchange rate system. Inflation surged to a record last summer and has eased a touch since then.

"We understand fully that (the price rise) is a thorny issue and many governments (in the past) tried to avoid moving on it," Madbouly said.

"But we see today the size of the subsidy bill on the Egyptian state and so we had to start to move as little as possible to ensure the sustainability of service."

Madbouly has said the government is studying moving towards conditional cash subsidies for bread.

After two years of chronic foreign currency shortages, Egypt has secured a windfall of funding since late February from the IMF, the UAE and other entities.

The new raised price represents 16% of the cost of making the bread, which has risen to 125 piasters from 115 last year, Supply Minister Ali Moselhy told the same press conference.

The finance ministry in March said it would allocate around 125 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.66 billion) for bread subsidies in its 2024/2025 state budget and around 147 billion pounds for petroleum product subsidies.

Egypt imported about 10.88 million metric tons of wheat in 2023, up 14.7% from 9.48 million tons in 2022.

Moselhy told Reuters that the decision will not impact the quantities of wheat the state imports.



Oil Holds its Ground as Chinese Demand Concerns Weigh

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
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Oil Holds its Ground as Chinese Demand Concerns Weigh

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil held its ground on Monday as downward pressure from concern about demand in top importer China offset support from strong demand elsewhere, OPEC+ supply restraint and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The reaction of the wider markets to the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump was in focus. The US dollar steadied after gains earlier in the session that had weighed on oil, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures were up 3 cents at $85.06 a barrel by 1326 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 7 cents to $82.28.

"Chinese data including refinery runs and crude imports are not supportive," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "But demand growth elsewhere is still healthy."

Crude fell last week after four weeks of gains as hopes of strong US summer demand were countered by concern over demand in China.

Chinese data on Monday added to that concern. The world's second-largest economy grew by 4.7% in the April to June quarter, official figures showed, the slowest growth since the first quarter of 2023.

On Friday separate figures showed China's crude oil imports fell 2.3% in the first half of this year.

However, the volatile situation in the Middle East continues to provide a geopolitical premium for oil, though ample spare capacity held by Saudi Arabia and other members of OPEC has limited price support, analysts say.

"Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including volatile Israel-Hamas clashes and stalled peace talks, could remain a driving factor for oil prices due to concerns over regional stability," said George Pavel, general manager at Capex.com Middle East.

The oil market is also broadly underpinned by supply cuts from the OPEC+ group of producers. Iraq's oil ministry said at the weekend that it will compensate for overproduction since the beginning of 2024.

Market sentiment was supported by a US inflation report for June that came in below expectations, raising hopes for an interest rate reduction, though challenges persisted as China’s crude imports in June declined, highlighting ongoing market difficulties, Pavel added.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak later in the day, and is likely to be asked for his reaction to last week's subdued inflation reading.

Markets are pricing in a 96% chance the Fed will cut rates in September, up from 72% a week earlier.