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Egypt's headline inflation is expected to have inched up to 12.5% in December from 12.3% ‌in November as food prices, a major ‌part of the ‍inflation basket, remained relatively stable, a Reuters poll found ⁠on Wednesday.The state statistics ⁠agency Capmas is scheduled to release December data ‍on Saturday.The median forecast for annual headline urban consumer inflation was calculated from a poll of 16 analysts. In November, inflation fell unexpectedly."Prices of goods and services were stable during the month, including poultry ‌and eggs," Hany Genena of Pharos said. "Poultry prices started to increase in January, which may push month-on-month ‍inflation up in ⁠January 2026, ‌but not December 2025."Five analysts also provided predictions for core inflation, which omits volatile items such as certain food and fuel products, forecasting it would slip to a median 12.4% from 12.5% in November. The polling data was collected over January 5-7.Annual inflation has plummeted from a record high of 38% in September 2023, ​helped by an $8bn financial support package signed with the IMF in March 2024.An ⁠expanding money ‍supply has helped fuel inflation. M2 money supply climbed to an annual 22.14% in November from 21.68% in October, central bank data showed. That was down from a peak of 31.5% ​in January 2023.Cooling inflation prompted the central bank to cut its overnight lending rate by 100 basis points to 21.00% in December, bringing total cuts in 2025 to 725 points.The bank's monetary policy committee is next scheduled to meet on February 12 to review ⁠overnight interest rates. 

Turkiye's annual inflation rate fell in December to its lowest level in 49 months. In a statement today, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said that the annual inflation rate reached 30.89 percent last month, its lowest level since November 2021 when it stood at 21.31 percent.The statement added that the consumer price index increased by 0.89 percent monthly in December, while the producer price index rose by 0.75 percent.

Sri Lanka’s inflation rose 2.1% last year, well below its target of 5%, the central bank said Thursday, but projected a “gradual acceleration” in 2026. While low inflation may appear positive for consumers, a rate below the central bank’s target signals underlying economic issues including weak consumer demand. Sri Lanka has been slowly emerging from its worst economic meltdown in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines. But it was hit hard in November by a cyclone that killed at least 643 people — with another 183 listed as missing — and affected more than 10% of the island’s population. The storm caused an estimated $4.1bn in direct physical damage to buildings and agriculture, according to the World Bank. The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), the official measure of inflation, rose to 195.8 in December from 191.7 a year earlier, marking a 2.1% increase. “Inflation projections... (since) November 2025 indicate a gradual acceleration of inflation towards the target of 5% in the period ahead,” the central bank said. Sri Lanka has secured a $206mn emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to meet part of the relief costs. The country has been stabilising its fragile economy with the help of a $2.9bn IMF bailout agreed in early 2023. 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued Administrative Decision No 32/2025 to temporarily close Professional Kitchen Trading and Services Company for one month, for violating the provisions of Article 7 of Law No 8 of 2008 on Consumer Protection and its Executive Regulations. The violation relates to the company’s description and advertising of a product using false and misleading information that could deceive consumers. As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen market oversight and ensure suppliers’ compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the ministry stressed that it will not tolerate any violations that undermine consumer rights or negatively affect the business environment in the country. The ministry also called on all citizens and residents to report any violations or illegal practices through the following channels: Contact Centre (16001); the ministry’s official social media accounts (@MOCIQATAR) 

Saudi Arabia's annual inflation rate fell moderately to 1.9% in November from 2.2% October, according to government data on Monday, reports Reuters. Inflation based on the consumer price index has hovered around 2.1% to 2.3% for most of the year, propped up by rising housing prices. Housing rental prices rose 5.4%, while passenger transport prices increased 6.4%, according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics. To tackle the rise in rents, Saudi Arabia's real estate authority in September laid out new rules that included a five-year suspension of annual rental increases for residential and commercial properties located within Riyadh's urban boundaries. Earlier this year, the government approved a Real Estate Ownership and Investment Law, which will ease property purchases by foreigners when it takes effect next year. The kingdom is in the process of building several massive new developments around Riyadh as part of its Vision 2030 programme to boost both tourism and the private sector in a bid to diversify the economy from oil. On a month-on-month basis, November's CPI increased a marginally 0.1%. 

With US stocks in the midst of a grim month, investors will look in the coming week for signs of strength in the US consumer with Black Friday putting the spotlight on the holiday shopping season. The rally in stocks has stalled in November, with the benchmark S&P 500 declining more than 4% so far during the month.Strong quarterly results from semiconductor giant Nvidia Corp failed on Thursday to calm markets, which have been rattled by concerns about elevated valuations and questions about returns on massive corporate investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, will now come under Wall Street's microscope. The trading week will be interrupted by the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, followed by Black Friday, known for ushering in discounts, then Cyber Monday and holiday shopping promotions heading into year end.Recent readings have shown a slump in consumer sentiment, while other data has been missing due to the government shutdown. This could make any signals about holiday spending more significant than usual. "From a sentiment standpoint, the early reads we get on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, due to the lack of data we have, will be important," said Chris Fasciano, chief market strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network. "The entirety of the holiday shopping period will be an important read for where we are with the consumer and what that means for the economy."While the S&P 500 remains up 11% year-to-date, it has declined just over 5% from its late October all-time high. The Cboe Volatility index on Thursday posted its highest closing level since April. Stock market performance could factor into how consumers spend over the holidays, particularly those with higher incomes who are more invested in equities.Despite the recent wobble, the S&P 500 has soared over 80% since its latest bull market began just over three years ago. "If you get a pullback there, a lot of the wealth in the upper income is in the stock market... so it will be interesting to see if they spend like they have in the past," said Doug Beath, global equity strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.This month, the National Retail Federation said it expected US holiday sales to surpass $1tn for the first time. Still, that November-December forecast equated to growth of between 3.7% and 4.2% from the year-earlier period, slower than the 4.3% growth in 2024.Household balance sheets are "in a very strong place," yet slowing employment growth could pressure holiday spending, said Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. "The most important factor for consumer spending is the health of the labour market," Pearce said. Data from the delayed monthly employment report released on Thursday showed US job growth accelerated in September.But the unemployment rate increased to a four-year high of 4.4%. Persistently firm inflation, with import tariffs contributing to higher prices, also could weigh on spending, Pearce said. Holiday shopping is critical for retailers.Walmart on Thursday raised its annual forecasts in a signal of confidence heading into year end. Reports from other retailers during the week were mixed. Another read on the consumer will come with Tuesday's release of US retail sales for September.That report has been delayed along with other government releases because of the 43-day federal shutdown that ended earlier this month. The influx of pent-up data in the coming weeks could further ramp up volatility for investors as they assess the economy's health and prospects that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its December 9-10 meeting.Following the September jobs report, which will be the last monthly employment release before the next Fed meeting, Fed funds futures late on Thursday reflected a 67% chance the central bank would hold rates steady in December after quarter-point cuts in each of the prior two meetings. Morgan Stanley economists said on Thursday they no longer expected the Fed to ease in December but they project three cuts in 2026. "The policy rate path remains highly data-dependent," the Morgan Stanley economists said in a note. "In our view, a mixed report means the committee will want to see more data before taking another step."

The dollar drifted higher against its major peers on Thursday as traders waited for the delayed release of US consumer inflation data on Friday, while digesting trade threats between Washington and Beijing. The yen weakened to a one-week low against the dollar as the market awaited details of a big stimulus package from new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, widely viewed as a fiscal and monetary dove. Sterling remained under pressure after British data on Wednesday showed consumer inflation held steady at 3.8% last month, defying economists' estimates for it to accelerate. The US dollar index, which measures the currency against the yen, sterling, euro and three other peers, edged up 0.5% to 98.979. The dollar added 0.17% to 152.21 yen, and earlier touched 152.26 yen for the first time since Oct. 14. Sterling sagged 0.09% to $1.3345. The euro eased 0.06% to $1.1604.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index rose to 10,873 points at the beginning of Monday's trading, up 0.31%, or 33.44 points, compared to the previous session's close, supported by gains in six sectors. According to figures released by the QSE, Transportation went up (+0.82%), Real Estate (+0.50%), Consumer Goods and Services (+0.46%), Banks and Financial Services (+0.23%), Industrials (+0.14%), and Telecoms (+0.09%). Meanwhile, Insurance went down (-0.08%). As of 10:00 am, trading volume totaled 36.888 million shares, with a turnover of QR 71.389 million across 3208 transactions.

South Korea's consumer prices grew by more than 2% in September, returning to the 2% range after one month, largely due to rising prices of essential food items, data showed Thursday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.1 % from a year earlier last month, South Korea's (Yonhap) news agency said, citing data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. Inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2% target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to 1.9% in May. It then climbed again, staying above 2% in both June and July, before slowing down to 1.7% in August. The service sector continued its upward trend, posting a 2.2% on-year gain. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, went up 2% in September, accelerating from August's 1.3% growth.

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) general index edged up 0.03% at the start of Monday's session, adding 3.27 points to reach 11,134 compared to the previous close.The slight rise was driven by gains in four sectors: Industrials (+0.31%), Telecoms (+0.28%), Insurance (+0.02%), and Banks and Financial Services (+0.02%). In contrast, losses were recorded in Transportation (-0.39%), Consumer Goods and Services (-0.17%), and Real Estate (-0.03%). As of 10:00 am, trading volume stood at 14.203 million shares, with a turnover of QR 36.290 million across 2,600 transactions.