Egypt’s annual urban inflation rate eased to 11.9% in January 2026 from 12.3% in December, although it remained above market expectations of 11.7%. This was the slowest pace of consumer price increases since September, as the impact of the October fuel price hike continued to fade.
Inflation moderated in several categories, including transport (27.5% vs. 28.4% in December), restaurants and hotels (11.9% vs. 12.8%), miscellaneous goods and services (10.4% vs. 11.3%), and furnishings (10.8% vs. 12.6%), while communications inflation held steady at 0.4%.
By contrast, inflation strengthened for food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.9% vs. 1.5%), clothing (14.1% vs. 12.8%), and housing (29.8% vs. 29.2%), driven in part by the lingering effects of higher rents.
On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2% in January, up from a 0.2% increase in December, marking the fastest month-on-month gain in three months.
