Egypt’s Inflation Stays on Target After Monthly Price Plunge

Egypt’s Inflation Stays on Target After Monthly Price Plunge

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) = Egypt’s inflation stayed within the central bank’s target range for a second month after the biggest monthly decline in at least over a decade. Consumer prices in urban parts of Egypt slipped 3.4 percent in December from November, according to data released Thursday by the state statistics agency, CAPMAS. The annual rate slowed to 12 percent in December, compared with 15.7 percent the previous month and below the ceiling of the central bank’s goal…

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Egypt Central Bank Gets Reprieve as Monthly Inflation Slows

Egypt Central Bank Gets Reprieve as Monthly Inflation Slows

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egyptian consumer prices rose at their slowest monthly rate since May, offering fresh evidence that the impact of fuel price hikes was abating and giving the central bank room to shift its focus from inflation to investments. Monthly inflation in August eased to 1.8 percent compared to 2.4 percent the previous month, according to data reported by CAPMAS, the state-run statistics agency, its slowest pace since the government began…

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Egypt Inflation Rate Accelerates for First Time in 11 Months

Egypt Inflation Rate Accelerates for First Time in 11 Months

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s inflation accelerated for the first time in 11 months in June after the government slashed fuel and electricity subsidies to help reduce the budget deficit. Inflation in urban parts of the country, the rate closely watched by the central bank, climbed to 14.4 percent from 11.4 percent in May, according to the state statistics agency. Prices rose 3.5 percent on the month, the most since January last year….

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South Africa Inflation Eases; Food Costs Up Least Since 2013

South Africa Inflation Eases; Food Costs Up Least Since 2013

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s inflation rate fell in May as food prices rose at the slowest pace since 2013, reducing chances that the central bank will increase interest rates later this year. Consumer prices climbed 4.4 percent from a year earlier compared with 4.5 percent in April, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said Wednesday in a report on its website. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was 4.6 percent. Prices of food and…

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Nigeria Rate-Cut Hope Lives as Inflation Slows to Two-Year Low

Nigeria Rate-Cut Hope Lives as Inflation Slows to Two-Year Low

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian inflation slowed for a 14th straight month in March, taking consumer-price growth below the benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years and opening the door for a rate cut. Consumer inflation in Africa’s most-populous nation decelerated to 13.3 percent from a year earlier, the lowest rate in two years and below the benchmark rate of 14 percent. Nigeria’s central bank left its main lending rate…

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Egypt Inflation Enters Post-Float Target Range for First Time

Egypt Inflation Enters Post-Float Target Range for First Time

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Inflation in urban parts of Egypt slowed to a 17-month low, for the first time entering a broad target range the central bank set after floating the currency in November 2016. The annual rate eased to 14.4 percent in February, from 17.1 percent a month earlier, the state-run statistics agency said. As prices soared following the decision to lift currency controls, the central bank had announced a target of…

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Nigeria’s Sticky Inflation Threatens to Curb Rate-Cut Hopes

Nigeria’s Sticky Inflation Threatens to Curb Rate-Cut Hopes

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s long-awaited interest rate-cutting cycle risks being short-lived, if it starts at all. Governor Godwin Emefiele said last month the Central Bank of Nigeria may reduce its benchmark from a record-high 14 percent before July if inflation drops closer to single digits. But with fuel costs surging and government spending swelling before next year’s election, he may struggle to reach that threshold at a time when the pace of price growth is still…

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