The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has reported a decline in the country’s annual headline inflation to 4.6% in July – the lowest since November, compared to 5.6% last June and 7.8% in the same month a year earlier, Invest-Gate reports.

This inflation rate is less than the CBE’s target range of 9% (±3) for the month, the central bank uncovered in a recent official statement, noting that the whole country’s CPI inched up to 107.8 points in July, logging a slight rise of 0.2% from June.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) attributed the CPI surge to the hike in prices of electricity, gas, and fuel by 11.2%, while hotel, outpatient, and hospital services by 2.7%, 1.5%, and 0.8%, respectively, according to a separate official statement.

Meanwhile, prices of fruits and seafood dipped by 3.7% and 2.3%, separately, while those of meat and poultry slumped by 2.2%. In addition, prices of milk, cheese, and eggs plummeted by 0.3%, CAPMAS further stated.

Egypt’s inflation rate is projected to rise to 6.5% by the end of the current quarter, which ends in September, according to Trading Economics’ (TE) econometric models, which expects the country’s inflation rate to hit 6.5% in 12 months’ time, while also jumping to 7.2% and 7.5% in 2021 and 2022, respectively.