The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.8% in June, reaching 14.8%, according to calculations by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). CPI is a measure of changes in the purchasing power of currency and the rate of inflation. The agency said in its monthly report for inflation issued on Sunday that the rise in inflation in June was driven by the increased prices of vegetables by 2.3%, fruit by 1.4%, meat, poultry, dairy, cheese, and eggs by 1.2%. The report also noted that the prices of readymade garments rose by 2.7%, due to Eid Al-Fitr, and organised tourist trips rose by 2.9% due to the Umrahs that took place in Ramadan. The inflation rate had gone down to 10.7% during fiscal year (FY) 2015/2016, compared to 11% in FY 2014/2015. According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the core inflation rate registered 0.74% in June, compared to 3.15% in May. The annual core inflation rate increased to 12.37% in June, compared to 12.23% in May. The Monetary Policy Committee of the CBE decided on 16 June to raise the prices of basic yields by 1%, due to the increased inflation rate this month by almost 2%. Core inflation at the CBE registered a monthly rate of 3.15% in May, compared to 1.24% in April─an increase of 1.91%. The basic annual inflation rate also rose to 12.23% in May, compared to 9.51% in April, recording an increase of 2.72%. According to the CBE, the CPI issued by CAPMAS registered a monthly increase of 3.05% in May, while in April it rose by 1.27%. The annual rate of inflation registered 12.31% in May, compared to 10.27% in April.
