Egypt’s annual headline consumer price inflation (CPI) fell 1.7% in May 2018, Reuters reported.

Figures published by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) show that CPI inflation fell from 13.1% in April to 11.4% in May, exceeding IMF forecasts for 12% inflation in June.

Current IMF predictions see inflation falling below 10% in 2019.

The falling rate may encourage the Central Bank of Egypt to cut interest rates at its next Monetary Policy Committee meeting on June 28. However, the IMF has warned against a rate cut because of the potentially destabilizing effects it may have on the economy.

Inflation surged in 2016 when the government floated its currency as a part of reforms conditioned on the $12 billion IMF loan. Price increases hit a three-decade high in July 2017 when CPI inflation hit 33%. Since then, the rate has gradually decreased.