Getting imported goods into the country: That was the subject of a meeting yesterday between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Central Bank of Egypt chief Hassan Abdalla, the finance and trade ministers, and the head of the Customs Authority, according to a statement released by the cabinet following the discussion.

Why this matters: The government’s import controls could be coming to an end before the end of the month. Authorities have pledged to scrap the requirement for businesses to use letters of credit to finance imports by the end of this month as part of its agreement with the IMF to transition to a flexible exchange rate.

The IMF sent a public reminder about this commitment earlier this week: In an interview with Reuters, the IMF mission chief for Egypt said that the Fund will be watching closely in the new year to assess whether the country has transitioned to a fully floating exchange rate. Egypt agreed to “permanently” adopt a flexible exchange rate in return for obtaining a USD 3 bn loan from the IMF.

Authorities are readying assistance from the beginning of next month: State-owned companies will start selling discounted goods to the public from the beginning of January under a directive issued by the prime minister yesterday. This came during a meeting with the supply and local development ministers, who will work with the Interior Ministry and military-owned companies to provide discounted goods until the end of Ramadan in April.

Why this matters: Inflation is set to accelerate in the new year. Adopting a flexible exchange rate is going to mean a more intense spell of inflation, heaping pressure on people on lower incomes. Some analysts are expecting inflation to accelerate into the high 20s during the first quarter of next year