CAIRO (AP) — Egypt raised natural gas prices for households and businesses on Saturday by between 33.3 and 75 percent, the latest among tough austerity measures aimed at rebuilding the country’s economy battered by years of unrest since a 2011 uprising.
The government’s decision, published in the official gazette on Saturday, should come into effect starting August. It sets the price for gas consumption of up to 30 cubic meters to 0.175 Egyptian pounds up from 0.100 pounds per cubic meter, an increase of 75 percent.
Meanwhile, gas consumption between 30-60 cubic meters went up by 42.8 percent, from 0.175 Egyptian pounds to 0.250 pounds per cubic meter. Consumption of over 60 cubic meters was upped by 33.3 percent, from 0.225 pounds to 0.300 pounds per cubic meter.
The move is likely to further fan the flames of popular discontent, especially among poor and middle-class Egyptians who have borne the brunt of the government’s economic reform program.
