Egypt’s core consumer price index (CPI) rose to 12.70% year-over-year in February 2026, up from 11.20% in January 2026, signaling a renewed pickup in underlying inflationary pressure.
The data, updated on 10 March 2026, show that February’s reading compares the change in core prices to the same month a year earlier, while January’s figure likewise reflected a year-over-year comparison. The acceleration suggests that price increases in non-volatile categories—typically stripped of items like food and energy in core measures—are gaining momentum rather than easing.
The latest move in core CPI will likely feed into market expectations around Egypt’s monetary policy path, as persistently rising underlying inflation often strengthens the case for maintaining or tightening relatively restrictive interest rate settings to anchor price stability.
