Egypt's year-long diesel price freeze hits its October deadline with no decision yet
Why it matters: Cairo promised diesel would stay frozen "at least until October 2026." That month has arrived, the pricing committee still hasn't met, and trade sources are already pricing in a 10-15 per cent rise once it does, with no warning for hauliers or generator operators when it lands.
Egypt's diesel has sat at 20.50 EGP a litre since the last official adjustment, under a freeze the petroleum ministry said would hold "until October 2026 at least." As of 9 October, the Automatic Fuel Pricing Committee still hadn't scheduled its review, and the ministry publicly denied social-media rumours of an imminent hike, insisting current prices remain in force. But Hassan Nasr, head of the General Petroleum Materials Division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, told local press he expects a 10-15 per cent increase once the committee finally convenes. For a Cairo delivery fleet or a construction-site generator operator, that's the gap between budgeting at 20.50 EGP a litre and planning for something closer to 23: no change yet, but the promised cushion is expiring with nothing to replace it.
Source: Banker (Egypt), 9 October 2026, corroborated by Al Khaleej (UAE).