North Africa/Middle East

Inflation in urban parts of Egypt accelerated to its fastest level since November 2018 on the back of higher food costs, Reuters reported. Consumer prices climbed 14.6% from a year earlier in August, versus 13.6% the previous month, the state-run statistics agency CAPMAS said Thursday. Food and beverage costs, which make up the largest single component of the inflation basket, jumped 23.1%. On a monthly basis, price growth slowed to 0.9% from 1.3% in July.

The Bank of Israel raised its benchmark interest rate on Monday by three-quarters of a percentage point, its biggest hike in two decades, and appeared on track for further increases as it tries to rein in inflation that has topped 5%, Reuters reported. The central bank lifted its key rate to 2.0% from 1.25%, continuing a tightening cycle that began in April when policymakers first raised the rate from 0.1%, an all-time low set at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dubai-owned company P&O Ferries will not face any criminal action over its decision to sack nearly 800 British workers without notice, the Insolvency Service has said, the Epoch Times reported. P&O Ferries, which was bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, sparked outrage on March 17 when it fired 800 seafarers without any prior notice and replaced them with cheaper agency workers, citing £100 million ($132 million) year-on-year loss.

Egypt’s president on Thursday appointed a caretaker governor of the central bank, the president’s office said, a day after the bank’s chief resigned amid a grinding economic crisis triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. According to a statement, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi named Hassan Abdullah to succeed Tarek Amer, who had held the post since 2015. The appointment still needs to be ratified by the state-controlled parliament, which is in recess until October.

Egypt’s central bank governor resigned Wednesday as the Middle East’s most populous nation struggles to curb inflation triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, high oil prices and a drop in tourism, the Associated Press reported. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi accepted the resignation of Tarek Amer and named him a presidential adviser, the Egyptian leader’s office said in a statement. The brief statement offered no explanation for Amer’s resignation. No replacement was immediately named for Amer, who had been appointed governor of the central bank in November 2015.

Saudi Arabia raised oil prices for buyers in Asia to record levels, a sign the world’s largest exporter sees the region’s market remaining tight, Bloomberg News reported. Despite indications that slowing economies are starting to hit global demand for crude, state producer Saudi Aramco increased its Arab Light grade for next month’s shipments to Asian refineries to $9.80 a barrel above the Middle Eastern benchmark. That’s 50 cents more than in August. Still, traders and refiners had expected a bigger jump of $1.50, according to a Bloomberg survey in late July.

Egyptians are finding some consumer goods increasingly hard to come by, as attempts to buffer the currency ripple across the $400 billion economy that’s running short on dollars, Bloomberg News reported. Although basic commodities are freely available, shortages in more luxurious products -- ranging from summer clothes to imported cars -- are becoming common. Choices for customers have dwindled at fast fashion groups like Mango, Zara and H&M.

Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation slowed to 13.2% year-on-year in June from 13.5% in May, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. Month on month, headline inflation eased 0.1%, compared to a 1.1% increase in May. The sharpest annual price increases were in the food and drink, recreation, and restaurant and hotel sectors, according to CAPMAS. The central bank on Thursday said core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food, rose to 14.6% year on year in June from 13.3% in May.

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund will visit Tunisia on Monday to start negotiations over a loan programme, a central bank official told Reuters on Friday, Reuters reported. This follows the completion of technical talks between the IMF and Tunisia, said Zied Mouhli, a central bank spokesperson. Tunisia, which is facing a financial crisis, is seeking to reach a loan deal in return for an unpopular reform package to shore up its struggling public finances.