In one residential neighbourhood, a woman who works in domestic service expressed her deep distress at the sharp rise in the prices of gas cylinders, saying that the price of a cylinder had reached EGP 300, and adding agitatedly: “We are worn out by the prices. Have mercy.”
Near a health unit in Cairo, citizens expressed their resentment at the new increase in fuel prices, pointing out that the cost of filling a car’s tank had exceeded EGP 1,000. Signs of anger and resentment were clearly visible on the faces of passers-by, at a time when citizens’ complaints about the difficulty of securing their basic needs because of successive waves of price rises keep recurring. On the eve of the government’s announcement of the fuel price rise, a single conversation prevailed among people, as prices became the focus of daily discussion, and the voice of silent anger was present in the details of everyday life.<\/p>\n
In Egypt, where the poor make up more than 37% of the total population according to official<\/span> estimates<\/span><\/a>, the government decided to raise petrol prices<\/span> for the<\/span><\/a> 20th time in six years, and the <\/span>second<\/span><\/a> time in 2025, as part of applying the automatic pricing mechanism for petroleum products, which links the local price to changes in the global market and the exchange rate. According to official<\/span> data<\/span><\/a>, the price of a litre of 95-octane petrol rose to EGP 21 and of 92-octane petrol to EGP 19.25, while 80-octane petrol reached EGP 17.75 and diesel EGP 17.50 per litre. Vehicle gas was set at EGP 10 per cubic metre.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The government said in its<\/span> statement<\/span><\/a> that the increase came in response to the “gap in production and import costs” resulting from higher shipping prices and fluctuating exchange rates, affirming that the decision aims to fix prices for a full year to ensure market stability and reduce the burden on the state budget. However, this justification did not succeed in calming the street, which received the decision with anger and resentment, amid continuing pressures on living conditions and rising prices of basic goods and services.<\/span><\/p>\n
The latest rise comes despite the<\/span> decline<\/span><\/a> in global oil prices in recent months, which settled at around USD 78 per barrel of Brent crude, about USD 10 below the average price in mid-2024. This raised questions about the extent of the government’s actual commitment to the automatic pricing mechanism, and about how much weight the local dollar rate against the pound carries in the pricing equation.<\/span><\/p>\n
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