Egypt’s Core Inflation Falls to 11.2% in January 2026

Egypt’s core inflation rate eased to 11.2% in January 2026, down from 11.8% in December 2025, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt.

The bank attributed the slowdown to a 1.2% monthly decline in the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January.

This compares with monthly declines of 1.7% in January 2025 and 0.2% in December 2025. Core inflation excludes volatile items such as food and fuel, offering a clearer measure of underlying price pressures as defined by the bank. Headline inflation also showed a marginal easing.

Data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics recorded annual headline inflation at 10.1% in January 2026, down from 10.3% in December 2025. On a monthly basis, the headline CPI rose to 268.1 points in January, marking a 1.5% increase from 264.2 points in December.

The rise was mainly driven by a 2.7% increase in food and beverage prices during the month. Headline readings reflect movements across the full consumer basket. The Central Bank of Egypt said inflation is expected to decline further over the course of 2026, bringing the country closer to its year-end target of 7% ±2 percentage points.

The bank noted that inflation has followed a downward trajectory since key interest rates were raised by 6% in March 2024, a move aimed at containing high inflation, stabilising local prices, strengthening foreign currency liquidity, and supporting broader monetary stability.

These measures form part of policy commitments under programmes supported by the International Monetary Fund, including the $8 billion Extended Fund Facility and the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

In October 2025, the IMF projected that inflation in Egypt would fall to 11.8% in fiscal year 2025/26 from an average of 20.4% in fiscal year 2024/25, citing tighter monetary policy. Reviews of both facilities are scheduled for the first quarter of 2026 following a staff-level agreement reached in December 2025.