Good afternoon, folks, and a very happy Monday indeed. The pre-Eid news lull is here and the anticipation for the upcoming holiday is palpable.

Everyone is off till next week: The public, private, and banking sectors as well as the EGX will be off from tomorrow until Sunday in observance of Eid Al Fitr.

** EnterprisePM Egypt will also be taking a break starting tomorrow, but we will be back in your inbox at our customary time with all the latest news on Monday, 15 April.

When do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 6:18 pm in the capital city, and you’ll have until 4:05 am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr if we don’t receive news of Eid.

Dar Al Ifta will hold its traditional moon sighting this evening to determine whether Ramadan ends today or tomorrow.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egypt’s annual headline inflation cooled to 33.3% in urban areas in March from 35.7% in February on the back of a slower increase in food prices, according to figures from state statistics agency Capmas.

On a monthly basis: March saw monthly headline inflation retreat to 1.0% after it jumped to its highest recorded m-o-m increase in February, scoring 11.4%.

Food and beverage prices to thank: Food and beverage prices — the largest component of the basket of goods and services used to calculate headline inflation — increased by 45.1% y-o-y compared to 50.9% in February, while increased by 3.7% m-o-m in March compared to 16.7% m-o-m increase in February.

Going against expectations: The median of analysts’ forecasts polled by Reuters ahead of today’s figures had expected headline inflation to come in at 36.3% in urban areas, which they attributed to the depreciation of EGP following the float and the administered fuel price hikes last month.

Others analysts have argued that inflation would dip as prices were previously based on the EGP’s exchange rate in the now-defunct parallel market. The greenback was trading for considerably higher than today’s bank rates and saw a significant jump in February before cooling down against the backdrop of the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Leading the conversation in the international media is the news coming from China as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that she will not allow Chinese imports to threaten new industries after the four days of meetings in China aimed at curbing Beijing's industrial oversupply. Yellen also added that she would consider “any measure, including potential tariffs” on the nation’s green energy exports. This comes with the US’ worries concerning flooding the global market with subsidized Chinese clean energy products which the US claims would negatively impact local providers. (Reuters | CNBC)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • The private sector minimum wage to get a 71% bump starting May: The National Council for Wages has decided to raise the minimum wage for private sector workers to EGP 6k a month up from EGP 3.5k currently starting May.
  • Highlighting the private sector’s role: We sat down with our friend EFG Hermes Head of Research Ahmed Shams El Din to discuss the role the private sector plays in turning Egypt’s economy around and what needs to be done to once again reel in foreign institutional investors.
  • Gaza aid increases: Egypt has increased the number of aid trucks heading to Gaza to over 300 trucks a day, State Information Service head Diaa Rashwan said in a statement yesterday.

?️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a cloudy, slightly rainy, and slightly cooler day in Cairo tomorrow, with a high of 25°C and a low of 16°C, according to our favorite weather app.

And over Eid Al Fitr, we’re in for highs ranging from 25-28°C and lows of 17-18°C in the capital.

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