Beltone: Egypt central bank likely to keep rates steady at Jan. 16 meeting

Egyptian investment bank Beltone Financial said on Thursday the country’s central bank is set to hold interest rates steady in its upcoming monetary policy meeting on January 16.

The primary motive for the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision to keep rates with no change is likely to review liquidity levels following its three consecutive bold rate cuts undergone during 2019, Beltone said in a report.

However, the central bank is expected to further lower rates by around 300 basis points within 2020, Beltone added.

The central bank cut its key interest rates three times during 2019. The overnight deposit and lending rates were cut by 100 basis (bps) points to 12.25 percent and 13.25 percent respectively.

The bank moved the meeting forward to January 16 after having previously been scheduled to take place on December 26. A statement by the bank said the postponement was to await the formation of the bank’s new board.