Cairo – Mubasher: Inflation in Egypt remains within the target range of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), despite the rise seen in June, Beltone Financial said in a note issued Tuesday.

High returns indicate that the CBE will mostly likely keep interest rates unchanged at its next meeting due in August, the research firm said.

June inflation is probably the highest reading seen in the second quarter of 2018, Beltone said, noting that the reading, which came at 14.4% in June, was within the CBE’s target range of 13%, +/-3%.

Despite the increase, the reading was much lower than the 30.9% inflation rate registered in June 2017.

Beltone further forecast that the third quarter will continue to see upticks in inflation on the back of seasonal events, such as the summer and Eid holidays, as well as the recent hikes in fuel and energy prices.

The research firm expects a 2% average increase in monthly inflation between July and September.

Earlier on Tuesday, Capital Economics expected that the CBE would not hike rates in its August meeting but expected a downward move.

Egypt’s annual inflation registered 13.8% in June, down from 30.9% in the same period of 2017, data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) showed. This rate, which was higher than May, came on the back of price hikes in fuel, drinking water, and metro fares.