CAIRO: Urban consumer inflation in Egypt fell to 11.7 percent in the year to April from 12.1 percent in the year to March, Egypt s state-run statistics agency CAPMAS said on Saturday. The figure is the lowest in 14 months. The nationwide figure for the 12 months to April was 12.2 percent, up from 11.6 percent in the year to March. Figures showed food prices in urban areas rose 2.5 percent, compared with 2.6 percent a month earlier. Restaurants and hotels, furniture and household equipment also increased. Reham ElDesoki from Beltone Financial said the urban figures were mostly in line with expectations. We had expected monthly inflation to increase, due to seasonal effects, ElDesoki said, citing the Coptic Christian Easter holidays as contributing to the rise in food and hotel prices. The strong base effect had continued to exert downward pressure on the annual inflation figure, leading to a decline in inflation despite the inflationary pressures on a monthly basis, she added. ElDesoki said she expected inflation to decline to an average of 9 percent in May. Beltone Financial had said it expected annual inflation would continue to decline, reaching single-digit levels by the middle of 2009 before rising in 2010 on higher commodity prices and base effects. ElDesoki said higher monthly inflation coupled with a decline in annual inflation might lead Egypt s central bank to cut interest rates next week.
