CAIRO, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's year-on-year headline inflation hit a record high of 39.7 percent in August, compared to 38.2 percent in July and 15.3 percent in August 2022, data from the country's official statistics authority showed on Sunday.
According to Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the prices of food and beverages surged by 71.9 percent, alcoholics and tobacco by 57.6 percent, restaurant and hotel services by 49.5 percent, and furniture and household appliances by 42 percent in the past 12 months.
The most populous Arab country has been struggling to curb the inflation rates that have been rising over the past few years, amid local currency depreciation and foreign currency shortage.
In early August, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) raised the interest rates by 100 basis points, or 1 percent, in a bid to contain high inflation. It was the second interest rate hike in Egypt this year after a 2-percent rise in late March for the same reason.
The CBE devalued the Egyptian pound twice last year, and the local currency has lost about half of its value since March 2022.
According to the CBE statistics, Egypt's foreign debt reached 165.3 billion dollars by the end of March 2023, registering a 4.8-percent increase from the same period last year.
The Egyptian government is working hard to attract foreign investments and boost the tourism sector which can bring in hard currency to the country beset with economic challenges. ■
