CAIRO, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's annual inflation rate declined to 13.9 percent in February, compared with 14.3 percent a year ago, official statistics agency said Sunday.

Meanwhile, the inflation rate increased in February to a record 1.8 percent compared with the previous month, said the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said in a statement.

The increase of the monthly inflation rate is attributed to the rise of the prices of food and beverages by 3.3 percent, the statement added.

Inflation rates have been rising in Egypt since the country devaluated its currency in November 2016 to deal with the shortage of U.S. dollars and started a strict three-year economic reform program based on austerity measures including fuel and energy subsidy cuts and tax hikes.

The liberalization of the Egyptian pound's exchange rate has encouraged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support Egypt's economic reform plan with a 12-billion-dollar loan.