CAIRO: Egypt’s annual inflation rate hit 29.6 percent in January, official figures showed Saturday, three months after the government floated the pound in line with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
Prices were rising even more quickly than in December, when inflation stood at 24.3 percent, the highest level since January 2011 when the Arab Spring uprising was at its height.
Consumers have been hit by surging prices since November when the government floated the currency and slashed fuel subsidies as part of an economic reform package linked to the $12 billion IMF loan deal.
The Egyptian pound, which had been pegged at 8.83 to the dollar, has been trading at nearly 19.
Food prices have gone up even more than those of other goods, rising by 38.6 percent year on year.
IMF mission chief Chris Jarvis said last month that he expected inflation to ease significantly in the second half of the year.
He said Egypt had made a “good start” on the reform package it had signed up to.
In addition to the pound’s devaluation, the government also raised tariffs on hundreds of imported items to up to 60 percent in December and introduced a value-added tax (VAT) in September.
The IMF approved a first $2.75 billion tranche of emergency loans in November after Egypt’s foreign currency reserves plunged.
The tourism sector, which is one the main sources of foreign currency, has been badly hit by a persistent militant insurgency.
Egypt is set to receive a second tranche of $1.25 billion.
Egypt inflation hits 29.6%
Egypt inflation hits 29.6%
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,183
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Monday, losing 44.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 11,183.85.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.05 billion ($1.08 billion), as 69 of the listed stocks advanced, while 191 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 6.63 points or 0.44 percent, to close at 1,504.73.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 328.20 points, or 1.36 percent, to close at 23,764.92. This comes as 22 of the listed stocks advanced, while 49 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Maharah Human Resources Co., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR6.50.
Other top performers included Arabian Cement Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.27 percent to SR22.71, and Saudi Research and Media Group, which saw a 4.3 percent increase to SR104.30.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co., whose share price fell by 8.01 percent to SR207.80.
Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology and Al-Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 5.61 percent and 4.46 percent to SR12.79 and SR75, respectively.
On the announcement front, Etihad Etisalat Co. announced its financial results for 2025 with a 7.9 percent year-on-year growth in its revenues, to reach SR19.6 billion.
In a Tadawul statement, Mobily said that this growth is attributed to “the expansion of all revenue streams, with a healthy growth in the overall subscriber base.”
Mobily delivered an 11.6 percent increase in net profit, reaching SR3.4 billion in 2025 compared to SR3.1 billion in 2024.
The company’s share price reached SR67.85, marking a 0.37 percent increase on the main market.
