The Central Bank of Egypt has outlined factors behind moderated inflation in January 2026, with annual urban headline inflation falling to 11.9% from 12.3% in December 2025, driven mainly by non-food inflation dropping to 18.6%, its lowest since October 2023. Food inflation rose temporarily to 1.9% from 1.5%. Nationwide headline inflation eased slightly to 10.1% from 10.3%.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) detailed the key drivers of moderated inflation in January 2026, where annual urban headline inflation declined to 11.9% from 12.3% in December 2025. This moderation stemmed primarily from annual non-food inflation falling to 18.6%, the lowest since October 2023, which offset a slight rise in annual food inflation to 1.9% from 1.5%.
Monthly urban headline inflation reached 1.2% in January, up from 0.2% in December 2025 but below 1.5% in January 2025. The increase was mainly due to higher food prices, aligning with seasonal pre-Ramadan patterns. Non-food inflation eased in the month, showing stability across most categories.
Rural annual headline inflation held steady at around 8.4%, compared to 8.3% in December, leading to nationwide headline inflation dipping to 10.1% from 10.3%.
On a monthly basis, food inflation accelerated to 2.3% from -0.7% in December, driven by a 3.7% rise in volatile food prices: fresh vegetables up 8.4%, fresh fruits down 2.8%, poultry surging 11.6%, and eggs increasing 1.4%. These contributed significantly to the headline figure. Monthly non-food inflation softened to 0.5% from 0.8%, with services inflation at 0.7% from rents and restaurant prices, regulated prices up 0.4% including tobacco and LPG, and retail up 0.4% in clothing and personal care.
Annual core inflation edged down to 11.2% from 11.8%, supported by lower retail and services contributions. Food added 0.77% to annual headline, while non-food contributed 11.12%.
