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Egypt Keeps Fuel Prices Unchanged until Year End

A gas station in the Egyptian capital, Cairo (Reuters)
A gas station in the Egyptian capital, Cairo (Reuters)
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Egypt Keeps Fuel Prices Unchanged until Year End

A gas station in the Egyptian capital, Cairo (Reuters)
A gas station in the Egyptian capital, Cairo (Reuters)

Egypt fixed gasoline prices on Saturday, for a period of 3 months until the end of this year, as a result of global economic conditions and their repercussions on the oil markets.

The decision comes after three consecutive price increases, and the devaluation of the local currency against the dollar, despite a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a loan ranging from 3 to 7 billion dollars.

In a quarterly review on Saturday, Egypt’s fuel pricing committee kept domestic fuel prices unchanged, the petroleum ministry said in a statement.

Prices of 80-octane, 92-octane and 95-octane petrol remained at 8 Egyptian pounds ($0.4098), 9.25 EGP and 10.75 EGP a liter, respectively, while the diesel price remained at 7.25 EGP.

Last week, at the end of a visit to Washington, an Egyptian delegation - represented by the Central Bank of Egypt and the Ministry of Finance – announced the success of the technical meetings with the managers and experts of the IMF, resulting in a full agreement over the new Egyptian economic reform program.

Two statements issued separately by the IMF and the Egyptian Ministry of Finance said that the two sides would soon announce the final agreement on the new program in Cairo.

The reform program of the Egyptian authorities includes “three main axes”, including reforms and measures related to fiscal policy, monetary policy, and structural reforms for the country’s economy.

The country pledged to resume fiscal discipline efforts by maintaining an annual primary surplus in the public budget and working to return the trajectory of government indebtedness to GDP to less than 80% in the medium term.

It also intends to work on extending the life of government debt, diversifying funding sources, improving the efficiency of revenues and spending in the public budget, as well as increasing spending on human development.

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Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
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Bank of England Cuts Main Interest Rate by a Quarter-point to 4.75%

Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
Bank of England Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy Clare Lombardelli, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, The Bank of England's Head of Media and Stakeholder Engagement Katie Martin and Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking, Dave Ramsden hold the central bank's Monetary Policy Report press conference at the Bank of England, in London, on November 7, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS

The Bank of England cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday after inflation across the UK fell below its target rate of 2%.
The bank said its rate-setting panel lowered the benchmark rate to 4.75% — its second cut in three months — though its governor Andrew Bailey cautioned that interest rates would not be falling too fast over coming months.
“We need to make sure inflation stays close to target, so we can’t cut interest rates too quickly or by too much,” he said. “But if the economy evolves as we expect it’s likely that interest rates will continue to fall gradually from here.”
In the year to September, UK inflation stood at 1.7%, its lowest level since April 2021 and below the central bank’s target rate of 2%, The Associated Press reported.
Central banks worldwide dramatically increased borrowing costs from near zero during the coronavirus pandemic when prices started to shoot up, first as a result of supply chain issues built up and then because of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which pushed up energy costs.
As inflation rates have recently fallen from multi-decade highs, the central banks have started cutting interest rates.
Economists have warned that worries about the future path of prices following last week's tax-raising budget from the new Labour government and the economic impact of US President-elect Donald Trump may limit the number of cuts next year.
The decision comes a week after Treasury chief Rachel Reeves announced around 70 billion pounds ($90 billion) of extra spending, funded through increased business taxes and borrowing. Economists think that the splurge, coupled with the prospect of businesses cushioning the tax hikes by raising prices, could lead to higher inflation next year.
The rate decision also comes a day after Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential election. He has indicated that he will cut taxes and introduce tariffs on certain imported goods when he returns to the White House in January. Both policies have the potential to be inflationary both in the US and globally, thereby prompting Bank of England policymakers to keep interest rates higher than initially planned.