A jump in fuel prices and a new law allowing landlords to increase rents have pushed Egypt’s headline inflation up to 12.0% in October 2025 from 11.7% in September, the highest rate in more than four months, data from the statistics agency CAPMAS showed on November 10.
The median forecast had been for inflation to rise to 12% in a Reuters poll of 14 analysts, some of whom cited an increase in fuel prices and a new law allowing landlords to raise rents. As per the CAPMAS, on a month-on-month basis, prices rose by 1.8% in October. Food and beverage prices alone went up by an annual 1.5% and by a monthly 1.2%. The Mostafa Madbouly government, on October 17, increased the price of a wide range of fuel products by nearly 13%.
The October increase reversed a trend of moderating inflation that had been ongoing since mid-2025, with the earlier months witnessing easing pressures due to slower food and beverage price increases. While the prior downward path was helped by declining prices in categories such as transport, restaurants, clothing, and miscellaneous goods, housing and furnishings had shown gradual price upticks.
However, the government’s decision to increase the fuel prices will definitely have a rippling effect on the broader Egyptian economy, as it affects things like transportation costs and goods production, contributing notably to consumer price rises. Analysts pointed to this increase as a key contributor to the renewed inflation acceleration in October.
On the other hand, a new law allowing landlords to increase monthly rent payments took effect in August, with the first rent hikes appearing in inflation statistics from September onwards. Given the high weight of housing costs in the consumer price index, these rent increases contributed to pushing inflation higher in October following the initial impact seen in the previous month.
Egypt has been in the headlines in the last couple of years, due to its inflation landscape. The ratio spiked dramatically to 38% in September 2023 amid currency devaluation, global commodity price shocks triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and capital outflows. Since then, policy actions like currency management, interest rate hikes totalling 600 basis points, and a USD 8 billion IMF support programme have helped temper inflation pressures considerably.
Despite the October uptick, inflation remains below the peak levels seen in 2023 and even early 2025. Analysts see the Central Bank of Egypt keeping interest rates steady in the near term, partly due to the latest inflation figures indicating stabilisation. However, policymakers will still practice caution, given recent fuel price pressures.