Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation accelerated to 23.3% in December, from 19.4% in November. Food and beverages prices soared to 28.3% Y-o-Y, from 21.5% Y-o-Y in November. Transportation costs rose to 23.2% Y-o-Y, from 22.0% Y-o-Y in November. Housing and utility costs remained steady at 8.2% Y-o-Y.  On a monthly basis, inflation slowed to 3.1%, from 4.8% in November. Food and beverages prices edged up to 5.3% M-o-M from 5.0% in November. Housing costs slowed to 0.0% M-o-M from 1.6% M-o-M in the previous month. Transportation costs slumped to 1.1% M-o-M from 13.4% M-o-M in November. (Bloomberg)