STORY: Egypt's annual headline inflation eases in December
SHOOTING TIME: Archive
DATELINE: Jan. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:05
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1.  various of CAPMAS
2.  various of the Nile River (in Cairo)
3.  various of a supermarket
4.  various of open-air market selling vegetables
5.  various of shops selling meat and poultry

STORYLINE:

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said on Wednesday that Egypt's annual headline inflation decelerated to 35.2 percent in December, down from 36.4 percent in November.
   
However, December's inflation rate remains significantly higher than the 21.9 percent recorded in December 2022.
   
According to the state-owned newspaper al Ahram, the latest inflation reading surpasses the target set by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), which aims to keep inflation within 7 percent (±2 percent) by the end of 2024.
   
CAPMAS attributed the decline in December's inflation to a 1.7 percent decrease in the prices of meat and poultry.
   
The agency said that the prices of grains and bread rose by 4.5 percent, while dairy, cheese, and eggs saw a 1.7 percent increase.
   
Additionally, the prices of oils and fats experienced a 2.8 percent rise, fruits saw a 4 percent surge, and a group of vegetables witnessed a 5.3 percent increase in prices.
   
This marks the third consecutive month of declining inflation rates following a period of steadily increasing rates throughout 2023. The inflation rate peaked in September at 40.3 percent before the start of its downward trend in October.

On Tuesday, the World Bank (WB) shed light on the external factors influencing Egypt's inflation problem, highlighting the negative impacts of the conflict in the Middle East, which will exacerbate inflation in the country in 2024.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)