Egypt: Inflation rose nearly 30 percent in January

CAIRO – Egypt says its annual inflation rate has risen to 29.6 percent in January, a rise of more than five percent over the previous month.

The figure was released Saturday by the state's statistics agency.

The steep rise in Inflation rates for December and January is mostly the result of the floatation of the Egyptian pound in November, which has since lost more than half of its value and sent the price of food, fuel and services soaring.

The floatation was part of a package of reforms introduced to secure an IMF loan of $12 billion to overhaul the economy.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is the architect of the reforms, which he says were necessary to save the country from economic ruin. Speaking on Thursday, he commended Egyptians for enduring what he called harsh and difficult measures.