Egypt\'s annual urban inflation up to 9.8% in June 2013

Egypt’s annual urban inflation rose to 9.8 percent in June, recording 134.8 points on Egypt’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), state statistics body CAPMAS announced on Wednesday. Urban inflation had registered 7.3 percent in the twelve months to June 2012. The rate of urban inflation increased by 0.9 percent in June compared to May 2013, according to CAPMAS. The governmental body attributed the rise in CPI to an increase in the cost of vegetables, which was up 23.1 percent in comparison with June 2012, grain and bread by 16.3 percent, rent and utility bills by 5.5 percent. In May, the International Monetary Fund had predicted that consumer price inflation would reach 10.9 percent by the end of the 2013 fiscal year in June. The Fund said this figure would climb to 11.6 percent in 2014 if the Egyptian government implements the subsidy cuts it pledged in negotiations with the Fund over a possible $4.8 billion loan. From : Ahram Online