CAIRO: Egypt announced Thursday a 15-percent increase in petrol prices, part of a reform package requested by the International Monetary Fund to proceed with a $5 billion loan to the cash-strapped government.

The Egyptian petroleum ministry said the price hike would come into effect on Friday.

The announcement comes ahead of an IMF meeting on Monday to review the April payout package, unlocking $820 million in funds after Cairo received another such tranche of the loan in late June.

Egypt is suffering its worst ever economic crisis, with ballooning foreign debt driving up inflation and resulting in several consecutive devaluations of the local currency against the dollar.

Inflation peaked at nearly 40 percent last year, before winding down to 27.5 percent in June.