The Egyptian government on Friday increased fuel prices by more than 10%, one of the latest measures taken by the country’s authorities and which occurs amid galloping inflation that exceeds 26% and that joins a deep depreciation of the local currency.
The Ministry of Petroleum Egypt announced in its quarterly review the rise in the price of 80-octane gasoline, which increases by 9.3%, from 8 Egyptian pounds to 8.75 Egyptian pounds ($0.29, at the current exchange rate) per liter, while 92 octane, the most used in the country for vehicles, increases by 10.8%, from 9.25 to 10.25 pounds ($0.33).
The decision was published by the ministry’s official Facebook account (NASDAQ:GOAL95-octane gasoline rose 6.9 percent, from 10.75 to 11.50 Egyptian pounds ($0.38), representing the lowest rise in this review.
On the other hand, the Government did not modify the prices of diesel, the main fuel used in the means of transport in the Arab country.
Egypt, with a population of more than 104 million inhabitants, has been suffering an economic crisis for several years, which have worsened significantly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and global inflation, and whose repercussions have affected a significant part of the population of the North African country.
The Egyptian currency has lost almost 50% of its value in just one year against the US dollar in a country that imports most of its food needs.
The crisis forced the Egyptian government, among other measures, to turn again to the International Monetary Fund in search of new aid programs, which join the other two that it has already requested since 2016.
These programs require the limitation of fuel subsidies and the free floating of the local currency.
The official minimum wage is 2,700 Egyptian pounds per month for the private sector, just under one hundred dollars.
