The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has attributed the rise in the monthly inflation rates which reached 1.17% in August 2012, compared to 0.38% in July 2012 to the increase in prices of vegetables and other food industries. The prices of fresh vegetables rose by 13.79% with a cumulative increase of 19.9% for the period from January 2012 to August 2012. The prices of fresh fruits witnessed a decline for the third consecutive month, registering a slight decline of 0.14% in August, compared to a decline of 3.34% in July. The prices of fresh vegetables and fruits contributed by 1.01 percentage points to the general monthly inflation rate. The prices of eggs were up by 6.78% in August after a monthly increase of 5.73% in July, contributing 0.11 percentage points to the general monthly inflation rate. The prices of poultry registered a slight increase of 0.13% in August after a monthly increase of 2.96% in July. The prices of red meat were stable. The prices of fish and sea food registered a monthly increase of 2.42% in August after they surged 2.05% in July, contributing 0.07 percentage points to the general monthly inflation rate. The prices of services recorded a slight increase due to the increase in prices of Hajj and Umrah in Ramadan, contributing 0.03 percentage points to the general monthly inflation rate. The prices of paid services were not changed. The core inflation rate registered 0.23% in August, compared to 0.58% in July, while the average monthly increase in the first seven months of 2012 recorded 0.44%. The annual core inflation rate retreated to 5.34% in August, compared to 6.34% in July. CBE's inflation index excludes the prices of commodities which are determined by the state and the prices of commodities which witness large fluctuations.
