RFA Breakfast Paper - October 9, 2026

Egypt Urban Inflation Eases to 13.9%

Egypt's annual urban headline inflation eased to 13.9% in September from 14.5% in August, its lowest reading since February and a second consecutive decline, according to CAPMAS data released on Saturday. The improvement was largely statistical: prices rose 1.3% month-on-month, the fastest pace since May, but a 1.8% monthly jump in September 2025 dropped out of the base. Food and beverage prices rose 2.8% m/m, ending three months of declines, as fresh vegetables surged 14.7%, lifting annual food inflation to 7.2% from 6.3%. Housing and utilities inflation fell to 35.2% from 42.8% on base effects. The Central Bank of Egypt held its overnight deposit and lending rates at 19% and 20% on 24 September, a fifth straight hold, and meets again on 29 October. With fuel subsidy cuts expected to lift October prices by about 2% m/m, room to ease is limited, keeping carry the main support for Egyptian debt.

Stocks Rally as Tech Rebounds, Oil Eases

U.S. equities closed higher on Friday as technology shares recovered from Thursday's sell-off and oil eased after President Trump described talks with Iran as productive. The S&P 500 rose 0.59%, the Nasdaq 0.64% and the Dow 0.83%, led by real estate (+1.85%) and healthcare (+1.48%). Humana jumped 12% on improved Medicare Advantage ratings, while T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon fell 8.5-13% after SpaceX agreed to buy low-band spectrum. Michigan sentiment fell to 46.3. Wednesday's CPI will test whether the Fed can pause after its September hike.

MTN, Oando Snap NGX's Seven-Day Slide

The NGX All-Share Index rose 0.13% to 248,363.55 on Friday, ending a seven-session losing streak and adding ₦208.46 billion to leave market capitalisation at ₦161.26 trillion. MTN Nigeria (+2.69% to ₦840.00) and Oando (+6.90% to ₦36.40) drove the gain, and the NGX 30 added 0.15% to 9,138.57. Banks lagged: the Banking Index fell 0.95% to 2,614.79 as Fidelity Bank dropped 8.70% and Access Holdings, UBA and Zenith lost 1.3-1.7%. Regency Alliance Insurance (+10.00%) led gainers; Red Star Express (-9.76%) led losers. Volume fell 34.6% to 322.01 million shares, and the ASI closed the week down 0.97%.