(Reuters) -Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation slowed to 12% in August from 13.9% in July, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Wednesday, coming in below expectations in a Reuters poll.
The median forecast of 13 analysts polled by Reuters was for annual urban consumer inflation to have eased to 12.7% from 13.9% in July, continuing a downward trend over the last two years as the government tightens its monetary policy.
Annual inflation has plunged from a record 38% in September 2023, helped by an $8 billion financial support package signed with the International Monetary Fund in March 2024.
Slowing inflation prompted the Central Bank of Egypt to cut its overnight lending rate by 200 basis points on August 28, the third reduction this year.
(Writing by Enas Alashry; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Tom Hogue)
