Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s annual inflation eased to 12.2% in January, compared to 17% in the same month of 2018.

The consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.8% month-on-month, recording 298.8 points last month, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a statement on Sunday.

The CAPMAS attributed the monthly increase in inflation rate to the uptick in prices of vegetables by 3.9% and bread and grains by 1.8%.

It is worth noting that Egypt’s annual inflation slashed to 11.1% in December 2018 from 22.3% in the same month of 2017.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is likely to cut interest rates to range between 2% to 3% next year, with an inflation rate averaging between 13% and 15% in 2019, according to a poll done by Mubasher.