Rising food prices drove urban inflation in Egypt to 22 per cent in the year to July, the highest since January 1992.

The inflation rose from 20.2 percent in the year to June, the official statistics agency Capmas said.

Monthly inflation rose 2.2 percent, compared to 0.6 percent in June, Capmas said on its web site.

Prices in the country as a whole, an indicator released every two months, rose 23.1 percent in the year to July, from 21.1 percent in the year to May.

In the countryside, inflation rose to 24.3 percent in the year to July, from 22.9 percent two months earlier.

The Egyptian Central Bank raised its key interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday to tame rising inflation, bringing the overnight deposit rate to 11 per cent and lending rate to 13 percent. - Reuters