CAIRO, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's annual headline inflation accelerated to 13.1 percent in March 2025 from 12.5 percent in February, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said on Thursday.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 1.5 percent in March compared to February, CAPMAS data showed.
The monthly increase was driven primarily by a 2.9 percent rise in the food and beverages category. Within that group, fruit prices surged 23.6 percent month-on-month, while vegetable prices climbed 3.1 percent and meat and poultry increased 2.8 percent.
Other sectors showing significant annual increases included transportation and communications (29.5 percent), healthcare (25.5 percent), tobacco (26.2 percent), and hotels (26.0 percent).
The housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel divisions recorded a 17.4 percent annual increase, mainly due to a 36.5 percent rise in energy prices.
Egypt has grappled with high inflation following currency devaluations and foreign currency shortages, with the rate peaking at a record 38 percent in September 2023 before easing. The government aims to bring inflation below 10 percent by the end of 2025.
