The Egyptian government has introduced new energy subsidy cuts, increasing fuels and cooking gas prices by 18% to 30%: the price of 92 octane gasoline rose by around 18%, from EGP 6.75/l (US$40.6c/l) to EGP 8/l (US$48.1c/l), while that of 80 octane and diesel rose by nearly 23% from EGP 5.5/l (US$33.1c/l) to EGP 6.75/l (US$40.6c/l). The price of cooking gas cylinders rose by 30%, from EGP 100 to EGP 130 (i.e. from US$6 to US$7.8). The government expects the new fuel subsidy cut to save nearly EGP 36bn (US$2.1bn).
Since 2016, Egypt has been cutting its energy subsidies as part of a US$12bn bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As part of a reform programme led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Egyptian government had decided to end subsidies on most fuels by mid-June 2019. The Northern African country is committed to reaching full cost recovery by the end of 2018-2019 for all fuel products, except for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fuel oil used in bakeries and for power generation, which will not be affected. The authorities have decided to opt for a phased approach to the planned introduction of fuel price indexation for all fuel products.
Where electricity is concerned, the reform will continue as planned towards the objective of full elimination by 2020-2021. In May 2019, the Ministry of Electricity announced that prices for electricity consumers connected to the high-voltage network (industrial users) would rise by around 10%, while prices for lower voltage consumers - such as households and businesses - would increase by around 19% as of 1 July 2019.