By Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's official statistics agency says the inflation rate has increased to 13.2 percent in May, ahead of a possible new round of price hikes as part of austerity measures designed to overhaul the country's economy.

The figures, announced Sunday by the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics, show that the initial shock of floating the national currency and slashing subsidies is fading. In April the inflation rate was 12.9 percent.

Inflation peaked last summer, hovering around 30 percent after the government cut fuel and electricity subsidies.

The tough measures under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi caused prices of basic goods to spike, hitting poor and middle class Egyptians especially hard.

They are part of broader economic reforms undertaken to meet demands by the International Monetary Fund for a $12 billion bailout loan.

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