Egypt Raises Fuel Prices as It Pushes Painful Overhaul - Bloomberg

Egypt Raises Fuel Prices as It Pushes Painful Overhaul - Bloomberg:

"Egypt raised fuel prices by as much as 55 percent and doubled the cost of cooking gas, pushing ahead with reforms that are designed to revive the economy but are also deepening the hardship that’s already rampant in the country. The price for a liter of 80 octane gasoline and diesel rose to 3.65 pounds (20 cents) from 2.35 pounds, the cabinet said in a statement on Thursday, while 92 octane fuel increased to 5 pounds from 3.5 pounds. Butane canisters, a staple in household cooking, doubled to 30 pounds. The measures, while expected ahead of the July 1 start of the new fiscal year, are part of a delicate balancing act the government is trying to perform. It’s eager to narrow its budget deficit, forecast to be 10.5 percent of gross domestic product in the current fiscal year. Yet it is also worried that price rises could spark unrest among the country’s 93 million people, about half of whom live near or below the poverty line."



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