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Egypt's Inflation Rate Eases for Fourth Month Running in June

Egyptian street vendors carrying breads, drive past a currency exchange point, displaying images of the US dollar, in Cairo, Egypt May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Purchase Licensing Rights
Egyptian street vendors carrying breads, drive past a currency exchange point, displaying images of the US dollar, in Cairo, Egypt May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Purchase Licensing Rights
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Egypt's Inflation Rate Eases for Fourth Month Running in June

Egyptian street vendors carrying breads, drive past a currency exchange point, displaying images of the US dollar, in Cairo, Egypt May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Purchase Licensing Rights
Egyptian street vendors carrying breads, drive past a currency exchange point, displaying images of the US dollar, in Cairo, Egypt May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh Purchase Licensing Rights

Egypt's annual urban inflation rate slowed for a fourth consecutive month in June, to 27.5% from 28.1% in May, data from the country's statistics agency showed on Wednesday.

June's fall extended the downward shift from a record 38% in September 2023 as authorities have shifted to an inflation targeting model and a flexible exchange rate.

Egypt's core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as fuel and some types of food, eased to 26.6% year on year from 27.1% in May, central bank data showed later on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Analysts have, however, warned of potential risks that could disrupt the downward trajectory including increases in administered prices such as fuel, medicine, fertilizers, and natural gas.

"Egypt is going through 30 months of intensive economic reforms that are expected to include repricing of subsidized electricity and fuel, which poses major challenges to taming inflation," said Mona Bedeir of Al Baraka bank.

Food and beverage prices increased by 30.8% in June on annual basis and by 3% month on month, following a 300% increase in the price of subsidized bread which came into effect on June 1.

The impact of the hike was limited by bread's relatively light weight in the index - it only accounts for around 1% of the food basket - and offset by disinflation of other food items and a favourable base effect.

Bedeir said that although the base-year effect is still strong enough to absorb some of the expected price hikes throughout the year, unexpected problems could still surprise policymakers.

"Such risks include power shedding policy which impacted fertilizer factories and could eventually impact the harvest of some crops. Climate change and the heat wave could also play a similar role, leading to higher food inflation," Bedeir said.

Since March, Egypt has been implementing austerity measures linked to an expanded $8 billion dollar financial support package from the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF said on Tuesday it had pushed back its third review of Egypt's program to July 29, which Bedeir said could signal that the multilateral lender is giving Egypt time to meet targets.

At the meeting, originally due to be held this week, the IMF's executive board is expected to disburse a $820 million payment to Cairo.

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Business

China's Trade Surplus Tops $1 Trillion despite Plunge in US-bound Exports

China's exports topped expectations last month and sent the trade surplus to a record above $1 trillion. AFP
China's exports topped expectations last month and sent the trade surplus to a record above $1 trillion. AFP
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China's Trade Surplus Tops $1 Trillion despite Plunge in US-bound Exports

China's exports topped expectations last month and sent the trade surplus to a record above $1 trillion. AFP
China's exports topped expectations last month and sent the trade surplus to a record above $1 trillion. AFP

China's towering annual trade surplus surpassed $1 trillion for the first time last month, data showed Monday, as a sharp drop in shipments to the United States was offset by surging exports to other major markets.

Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump reached a tentative truce to their fierce trade war when they met in late October, agreeing a pause to painful measures that included lofty tit-for-tat tariffs.

Exports have served as a key economic lifeline for China as trade and relations with the United States and others have fluctuated in recent years.

That has helped temper a prolonged debt crisis in the country's vast property sector and sluggish domestic spending, which have weighed on growth and are among the most pressing issues facing Beijing.

Exports climbed 5.9 percent year-on-year in November, reversing the slight decline recorded in October, the General Administration of Customs said.

The reading was also above a Bloomberg forecast of four percent growth.

The jump came despite a continued downturn in shipments to the United States, which sank 28.6 percent to $33.8 billion in November, the data showed.

"Weakness in exports to the United States was more than offset by shipments to other markets," Zichun Huang of Capital Economics wrote in a note.

"Exports are likely to remain resilient, thanks to trade rerouting and rising price competitiveness as deflation pushes down China's real effective exchange rate," Huang said.

The surge in shipments last month added to the country's ballooning annual trade surplus for the first 11 months of the year, which the Customs data showed hit $1.08 trillion in November.

"China's trade surplus this year has already surpassed last year's level, and we expect it to widen further next year," Huang wrote.

But the imbalance has long been a sticking point for major Western trading partners.

French President Emmanuel Macron threatened in remarks published Sunday to impose tariffs on China if Beijing fails to reduce its massive trade surplus with the European Union.

Macron -- who concluded a state visit to China last week -- warned in business daily Les Echos that "Europeans will be forced to take strong measures in the coming months".

In a further sign of China's weak domestic consumption, the data showed Monday that imports rose 1.9 percent on-year in November -- slower than the three percent increase predicted by Bloomberg.

"The rebound of export growth in November helps to mitigate the weak domestic demand," Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note.

"The economic momentum slowed in the fourth quarter partly driven by the continued weakness in the property sector," he said.

Xi and Trump agreed at the October meeting in South Korea to scale back sky-high tariffs on each other's goods and blistering export controls that had sent shockwaves across global industries.

The detente is due to expire late next year, allowing time for officials to reach a permanent deal -- though experts warn such a breakthrough will be challenging.

"There's no guarantee this uneasy truce will last that long," Lynn Song, ING chief economist for Greater China, said last week.

"A lot needs to go right for the agreement to hold for the full year," he wrote, adding that "it seems prudent to expect a softer external demand backdrop for next year."

China's leaders -- who are targeting overall growth this year of five percent -- are expected to convene a key meeting this week focused on economic planning.

Business

King Abdulaziz Int’l Airport Records Increase in Passenger Traffic in November 2025

King Abdulaziz International Airport recorded notable growth in operational performance during November 2025. (SPA)
King Abdulaziz International Airport recorded notable growth in operational performance during November 2025. (SPA)
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King Abdulaziz Int’l Airport Records Increase in Passenger Traffic in November 2025

King Abdulaziz International Airport recorded notable growth in operational performance during November 2025. (SPA)
King Abdulaziz International Airport recorded notable growth in operational performance during November 2025. (SPA)

King Abdulaziz International Airport recorded notable growth in operational performance during November 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

The total number of passengers reached 4.86 million, marking an increase of 8.6 percent, while the total number of flights reached 25,900, reflecting a growth of 10.6 percent.

The airport recorded its highest operating day on November 20, 2025, serving more than 176,800 passengers in a single day, representing a 9.6 percent increase compared to the peak day recorded in November 2024. The total number of handled baggage items also rose to 5.6 million, registering a year-on-year growth of 25.4 percent.

From the beginning of 2025 through November 30, the total number of passengers reached 48 million, an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Over the same period, the number of flights reached 273,700, reflecting an increase of 8.2 percent.

These figures highlight the continued expansion of services at King Abdulaziz International Airport, one of the region's most prominent aviation hubs. They also underscore ongoing efforts to enhance operational efficiency and provide a seamless and comfortable travel experience, supporting increased travel options and contributing to the growth of tourism and trade.

Business

French Economy Likely to Grow at Least 0.8% in 2025, Finance Minister Says

French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)
French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)
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French Economy Likely to Grow at Least 0.8% in 2025, Finance Minister Says

French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)
French Minister for Economy, Finance, and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty Roland Lescure attends the 7th formal meeting of the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Beijing on December 4, 2025. (Reuters)

Unless there is a sharp reversal in the final three months of the year, the French economy is likely to grow by at least 0.8% in 2025, outpacing the 0.7% that the government had anticipated, Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Sunday.

"We will most likely exceed the government's growth forecast for this year. We had predicted 0.7%, but I think we will have at least 0.8%. That's good news," Lescure told LCI television.

"So we would really need to have a bad fourth quarter, which I don't believe will happen, for us to be below 0.8%, so 0.8% is within reach," he added.

France's economy grew 0.5% in the third quarter, final data from statistics office INSEE showed in November, reflecting resilience in the euro zone's second-largest economy.