National Bank of Egypt cuts rates on 3-year platinum certificates by 1%

State-owned National Bank of Egypt has cut the interest rates on its three-year platinum saving certificate by 1 percent, the vice chairman of Egypt’s largest bank said on Thursday.

“The bank decided to cut the interest rates on its three-year platinum certificate by 1 percent to 14 percent and 14.25 percent from 15 percent and 15.25 percent,” Yehia Aboul Fotouh told Amwal Al Ghad.

The move came after Egypt’s central bank made it first cut in key interest rates since February as July inflation figures were significantly below expectations. The overnight lending rate was cut by 150 basis points to 15.25 percent, the Egyptian central bank said in a statement after a meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC) on Thursday evening.

Headline inflation slowed to 8.7 percent in July from 9.4 percent in June, surprising analysts who had expected inflationary pressures to surge following a round of subsidy cuts that pushed fuel prices 16-30 percent higher.