Egypt increases fuel prices

Egypt yesterday announced new hikes on fuel prices as part of austerity measures tied to an IMF loan as it seeks to cut subsidies and reduce its public debt.

The price hikes of between 35 and 50 per cent were announced by Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla and go into effect immediately, state media reported.

They follow a decision this week to further cut electricity subsidies and raise average prices by around a quarter as the most populous Arab nation moves forward in a sweeping economic reform programme.

Egypt has imposed harsh austerity measures and started phasing out subsidies on many goods and services since November 2016, when the International Monetary Fund approved a three-year $12 billion loan.

Since then consumer prices have soared as the authorities floated Egypt’s currency and adopted a value-added tax.

The latest price hikes see the cost of widely-used 92 octane unleaded petrol rise by 35 percent, while diesel prices will leap by 50pc, according to figures published by state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper