⁍ Egypt’s central bank unexpectedly cut its main overnight interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday.
⁍ The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reduced the lending rate to 9.75% and the deposit rate to 8.75%.
⁍ MPC expected inflation to hover around the lower band of the 6-12% inflation band in the rest of 2020.
– Egypt’s central bank unexpectedly cut its main overnight interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, saying exceptionally low inflation gave it room to help boost the economy. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee reduced the lending rate to 9.75% and the deposit rate to 8.75%, it said in a statement, per Reuters. Of 18 analysts polled by Reuters, 15 had expected the bank to keep rates steady, and three had expected it to reduce them by one percentage point. “The reduction of policy rates in today’s meeting provides appropriate support to economic activity, while remaining consistent with achieving price stability over the medium-term,” the bank said. Annual urban consumer price inflation fell to 3.4% in August, the second lowest level in almost 14 years, from 4.2% in July. Inflation had slid to 3.1% last October but rebounded in subsequent months.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-cenbank-int/egypt-cuts-interest-rates-by-50-bps-as-inflation-subsides-idUSKCN26F3HX