Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation climbed for a second month in September, rising to 26.4% from 26.2% in August, data from the country's statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Wednesday.
Month-on-month, prices rose by 2.1%, reversing a 0.4% decline in July. Food prices rose by 2.6% compared with 1.8% in August. September food prices were 27.7% higher than they were a year earlier, Reuters reported.
Recent inflation has been driven in part by fuel hikes of 10-15% near the end of July, a 25-33% jump in metro ticket prices at the beginning of August and a 21-31% increase in electricity tariffs in August and September.
Inflation had been declining gradually from September's record high of 38.0%, turning the central bank's real overnight borrowing rate, at 27.25%, positive in July for the first time since January 2022.
A poll of 19 analysts had forecast urban inflation would ease to 25.9% in September.
Egypt has tightened monetary policy under an $8 billion International Monetary Fund financial support package signed in March which also required it to increase many domestic prices and devalue its currency.
