STORY: Egypt's annual inflation rate drops to 23.4 pct in Dec., lowest in 2 yrs
SHOOTING TIME: File
DATELINE: Jan. 10, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:02
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of CAPMAS
2. various of a market

STORYLINE:

Egypt's annual inflation rate declined to 23.4 percent in December 2024, down from 25 percent in November, marking the lowest level in two years, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) released on Thursday.
   
The decline is attributed to the decrease in prices for several categories, including vegetables, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, and dairy products, CAPMAS said in a press release.
   
However, some other commodities and services saw price hikes in December, including fruit, bread, cooking oil, electricity, gas, and other fuels, transport services, telephone and fax services, accommodation services, clothing materials, and medical products and equipment, according to the statistics agency.
   
In recent years, Egypt has faced a shortage of foreign currency needed for imports, which led to the devaluation of the local currency and caused high inflation that reached a record high of 38 percent in September 2023, before gradually declining to 26 percent in September 2024.
   
With the government's efforts to rationalize spending and increase investments, Egypt seeks to reduce the inflation rate to below 10 percent by the end of 2025, according to a previous statement by the Egyptian prime minister.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)