Attention, petrol heads: The Madbouly government raised fuel prices over the weekend, according to decisions published in the Official Gazette. The hikes, which ranged from 8.0% to 21.2%, came after the government’s fuel pricing committee met on Thursday to announce the first price hikes this year.

The prices of petrol have been hiked by 8-10% at the pumps as of Friday:

  • 95-Octane is EGP 13.5 per liter, up 8% from EGP 12.5.
  • 92-Octane is EGP 12.5 per liter, up 8.7% from EGP 11.5.
  • 80-Octane is EGP 11 per liter, up 10% from EGP 10.

But diesel car drivers saw the biggest increase, with prices rising 21.2% to EGP 10 per liter from EGP 8.25.

The price of compressed natural gas for automobiles also rose substantially, increasing 18% to EGP 6.50 per cubic meter, up from EGP 5.5.

All aboard, at a higher price: Public transport users will also see a price hike of EGP 1:

  • Public bus fares rose to EGP 7 for regular buses and EGP 13 for air-conditioned vehicles.
  • White taxi meters in Cairo will now start at EGP 8.5, rising by EGP 4 per km, while in Alexandria, fares will start at EGP 9.25, rising by EGP 3.25 per km.
  • Minibus travel will now cost EGP 10 for distances over 30 km and EGP 9 for shorter distances.
  • Microbus tickets vary between governorates and depend on the length of the trip, with fares increasing betweenEGP 0.5 - 1 for the majority of routes. Inter-governorate microbus fares rose roughly 15% distance dependent.

However, train tickets are still on the same track: The government is not looking to increase the prices of railway ticket prices despite the hike in diesel prices costing the network an additional EGP 1.5 bn a year, a government official told Asharq Business

The price of a 12.5 kilogram butane gas cylinder jumped by 33% to EGP 100 from EGP 75.

The hikes have also directly impacted the industrial sector, as the price of mazut for brick and cement factories rose to EGP 7.5k per ton from EGP 6k previously.

Hikes to impact commodity prices: With elevated logistics costs following the hike, commodity prices could see a 5-12% increase, Head of Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s Supply Division Matta Beshay told Salet El Tahrir’s Azza Mostafa (watch, runtime: 3:28).

We’ve been expecting the hike: The rise in the transportation and shipping of oil imports as a result of Red Sea disruptions in addition to the government’s float of the EGP earlier this month underpinned the committee's decision to hike the prices, the oil ministry said in a statement.

Part of promises to IMF: The increase also falls in line with promises made by Egypt to the International Monetary Fund over a year ago as part of the now-USD 8 bn financial support agreement, when the government said it would allow fuel prices to rise to bring domestic prices in line with international energy markets.

But fuel price hikes could add to inflationary pressures: Fuel price increases are likely to have a knock-on effect on inflation, which defied analyst expectations in February by rising to 35.7%, a whole ten percentage points above analyst forecasts, dashing hopes that Egypt is firmly on a disinflationary path.

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