{"id":618427,"date":"2024-04-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/04\/08\/this-evening-egypts-annual-urban-inflation-cools-to-33-3-in-march\/"},"modified":"2024-04-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T00:00:00","slug":"this-evening-egypts-annual-urban-inflation-cools-to-33-3-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/04\/08\/this-evening-egypts-annual-urban-inflation-cools-to-33-3-in-march\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS EVENING: Egypt\u2019s annual urban inflation cools to 33.3% in March"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, folks, and a very happy Monday indeed. <\/strong>The pre-Eid news lull is here and the anticipation for the upcoming holiday is palpable.<\/p>\n

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

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

When do we eat?<\/strong> Maghrib prayers are at 6:18 pm in the capital city, and you\u2019ll have until 4:05 am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr if we don\u2019t receive news of Eid.<\/p>\n

Dar Al Ifta will hold its traditional moon sighting this evening<\/strong> to determine whether Ramadan ends today or tomorrow.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s annual headline inflation cooled to 33.3%<\/strong> in urban areas in March from 35.7% in February<\/a> on the back of a slower increase in food prices, according to figures from state statistics agency Capmas.<\/p>\n

On a monthly basis: <\/strong>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%. <\/p>\n

Food and beverage prices to thank:<\/strong> Food and beverage prices \u2014 the largest component of the basket of goods and services used to calculate headline inflation \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

Going against expectations: <\/strong>The median of analysts\u2019 forecasts polled by Reuters ahead of today\u2019s figures had expected<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Others analysts have argued that inflation would dip as prices were previously based on the EGP\u2019s exchange rate in the now-defunct parallel market<\/strong>. The greenback was trading for considerably higher than today\u2019s bank rates and saw a significant jump in February before cooling down against the backdrop of the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leading the conversation in the international media is the news coming from<\/strong> China <\/strong>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 \u201cany measure, including potential tariffs\u201d on the nation\u2019s green energy exports. This comes with the US\u2019 worries concerning flooding the global market with subsidized Chinese clean energy products which the US claims would negatively impact local providers. (Reuters<\/a> | CNBC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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