Egypt’s economy grew 8.3% in the second quarter of the fiscal year and 9% in the first half, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told a news conference in Cairo on Wednesday.
Gross domestic product growth should exceed 6% for the whole fiscal year that ends June 30, he said as the third largest economy in Africa continues to out pace growth in Nigeria on account of more investor friendly policies.
The economy grew 1.3% in the first half of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Planning Minister Hala al-Said told the conference.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Egypt was one of the few emerging market economies to grow in 2020 as a result of government incentives and support to sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Inflation has returned to levels that prevailed before the pandemic, Madbouly said, adding that the country was on track to keep annual increases in the consumer prices index contained at 7% plus or minus two percentage points.
Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation quickened to 7.3% year on year in January, its highest since August 2019, from 5.9% in December, acccording to the statistics agency.
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