Egypt Watch

The US dollar exceeds a record in Egypt at 32 Egyptian pounds

On Wednesday, one US dollar exceeded 32 Egyptian pounds after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Egypt’s pledges to switch to a flexible exchange rate permanently.

On Tuesday, the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said that the annual inflation rate rose to 21.9%.

According to CAPMAS, 75% of Egyptian families reduced spending on food by excluding higher-priced items, with about 95% of households reducing their consumption of meat, poultry and fish.

The Washington Post quoted experts at Capital Economics as saying that the jump in inflation is the highest since 2017, with expectations that inflation will continue to rise in the coming months. According to the Financial Times, rising inflation has put more pressure on millions of Egyptians, with an estimated 60 per cent of the 100 million living below or below the poverty line. The IMF lowered its forecast for the growth of the Egyptian economy, expecting it to grow by only 4%. It also ruled out the recession of the inflation wave in Egypt soon, expecting inflation to decline to 7% in the fiscal year 2024-2025.