Egypt's government will postpone a decision whether to increase electricity prices by six months starting in July, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday.
Egypt has experienced increasing price pressures in recent months and devalued its currency by 14% in March after facing economic headwinds from the war in Ukraine.
Annual headline inflation accelerated to 13.3% in May, having risen steadily from 5.9% in December.
The government would bear the 10 billion EGP ($533.9 million) cost of postponing the electricity price rises, Madbouly said, in addition to the cost of commodity price rises.
On Monday, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said authorities were working to mitigate inflationary pressures, despite the impact on Cairo's strained budget.
Egypt had previously announced plans to eliminate power subsidies by the end of the current fiscal year of 2021/22, but in June 2021 announced a three-year extension.
