Egypt expects inflation to remain above 20% during the next fiscal year, Tamim Elyan and Ahmed Feteha write in Bloomberg. Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk says the government is planning an aid package that will “target public servants, low-income tax payers and recipients of food subsidies.” The details of the plan will be announced “soon,” he said. This comes as the government now believes inflation will be in the 20% band during a good portion of the 2017-18 fiscal year, eventually easing to 9.7% in FY2018-19.

Kouchouk also told Bloomberg that the budget deficit for the first nine months of the FY 2016-17 dropped to 8% of GDP, from 9.4% a year earlier, with primary deficit falling to 1.2% of GDP from 2.9%. He added that Egypt plans to raise USD 1.5-2 bn in international bonds next week to cover FY 2017-18’s financing gap, with the following international bond sale possibly being in early 2018.

Bloomberg also took note yesterday of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s interview with the editors of state newspapers, in which El Sisi promised tax breaks and improved availability of subsidized staples ahead of Ramadan in a bid to help families struggling with inflation to prepare for the Holy Month.