Egypt's annual urban inflation recorded 4.5% in March 2021, unchanged from February, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The agency said, in a statement on Thursday, that the consumer price index (CPI) for Egypt reached 110.9 points for March 2021, reflecting an increase of 0.6% from February 2021. CAPMAS attributed the increase to the rise in prices of: fruits by 7.1%; meat and poultry by 3.7%; oils by 0.9%; vegetables by 0.7%; grains and bread by 0.5%; and dairy, cheese, and eggs by 0.5%. This comes despite the decrease in prices of garments by 1.1% and transportation services by 0.4%. The agency added that the annual inflation rate for the entire country recorded 4.8% for March 2021, compared to 4.9% in February 2021, and 4.6% in March 2020. Moreover, the monthly core inflation, computed by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), recorded 0.5% in March 2021, compared to 0.4% in the same month of the previous year, and 0% in February 2021. Accordingly, the annual core inflation reached 3.7% in March 2021, compared to 3.6% in February 2021. Additionally, the urban headline inflation, according to CAPMAS, was 0.6% in both March 2021 and March 2020, while it recorded 0.2% in February 2021. Accordingly, the annual headline inflation remained stable at 4.5% in March 2021.
