Howdy, friends, and kudos to all of us for making it to the weekend — which means alarmfree sleep until Tuesday for many of you, we hope. In today’s issue, we’re taking a deep dive into the Artemis II Lunar Flyby mission, how the internet’s been reacting, and what a “lunar economy” would entail. Also, we review the fifth and final season of The Boys, which kicked off with a bang.

**A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterprisePM will be taking a long weekend break as we celebrate Sham El Nessim and will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday afternoon. Until then, enjoy the long weekend.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 Egypt’s annual urban inflation accelerated for a second consecutive month to 15.2% in March, up from 13.4% in February, as regional conflict, higher energy prices, and a weaker EGP drove broad-based cost pressures. Monthly inflation rose to 3.2%, according to Capmas.

The reading beat consensus estimates, fueled by a c.16% spike in domestic fuel prices and a 21.6% jump in vegetable costs, which HC’s Neamat Choukri attributed to the war-induced surge in global energy prices and a c.12% monthly depreciation of the EGP to EGP 54.56/USD.

What’s next: While analysts expect upcoming electricity tariff hikes to sustain momentum in April, there is a growing consensus that the CBE will keep its easing cycle on ice through this period of heightened uncertainty. Thndr’s Esraa Ahmed expects that policymakers will likely hold rates steady until the “real cost of the Iran war” can be fully assessed.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 The US-Iran two-week ceasefire is off to a rocky start — Iran accused Washington of violating their agreement after Israel launched a series of strikes on Lebanon, a point of debate between the two sides over whether the truce covers Lebanese territory. The UK and the EU called for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire.

MEANWHILE- Energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain slow as Iran demands tolls for safe passage and maintains that the full recovery of the strait hinges on compliance with the truce’s conditions. As the truce remains fragile and Tehran threatens to withdraw from the agreement, oil prices rose, with Brent up 3.6% to USD 97.9 a barrel and WTI up 5% to USD 99 a barrel at the time of publication.

^^Read more on: Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, and the Financial Times.

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

  • The ceasefire is already being felt in the markets, with the EGX30 up 4.1% by the end of trading yesterday, outperforming regional peers. The EGP also gained around 2.5% on the greenback by the time bank tellers shut up shop for the day;
  • A new and more pro-private sector state ownership policy document will be released next month. The committee overseeing the revision of the policy is finalizing its amendments;
  • The Central Bank of Egypt is moving to renew a USD 2 bn Kuwaiti deposit due this month. The maturing deposit is expected to be renewed under the same existing terms and will remain in place.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Grab your shades and put on your linens, it seems we’re in for a warm start to the weekend. Temperatures in Cairo are set to peak at a high of 27°C, with a low of 15°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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