EGYPT'S annual inflation rate inched up to 4.66 per cent in December 2012 from 4.25 per cent in November, according to figures issued this month by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). The increase in inflation comes at a time when consumers are feeling the pinch of increasing prices. “Each time I visit the supermarket, prices are higher than the time before. I constantly have to cut down on our needs,” said Enas Kamel, a mother of two children. Kamel added that even vegetables and fruits have witnessed an increase during the past few weeks. “A kilo of green peas is sold at LE6 while spinach is for LE6 per kilo and potatoes are sold at LE4. This is too high for the majority of population,” Kamel said. More hikes in prices are expected on the back of the depreciation of the currency. The Egyptian pound has lost five per cent of its value to the dollar in less than two months. On a month-on-month (M/M) basis, the headline Consumer Price Index inched up by 0.15 per cent in December 2012, compared to a decline of 1.31 per cent in November 2012. The headline CPI calculates the cost of a basket of goods. It places a 40 per cent weight on food and beverages. In the meantime, core CPI, computed by the Central Bank of Egypt, increased by 0.44 per cent per cent M/M in December compared to a decline of 0.25 per cent in November. Core CPI does not take into consideration items affected by seasonal changes, such as food and vegetables.
