Egypt’s central bank leaves key interest rates on hold

Egypt’s central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi showed no intentions to apply any devaluation of the currency in coming months.

The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation on hold at 18.25 percent, 19.25 percent, and 18.75 percent, respectively, it explained in a statement.

The CBE also kept its discount rate unchanged at 18.75 percent.

In remarks made to a youth conference last week, the Egyptian president appeared to rule out any currency devaluation in coming months, saying such a move could harm national security and hurt Egyptian citizens.

However, Egypt’s annual core inflation rose to 40.3 percent in May from 38.6 percent in April.

MPC Press Release 22 June 2023 (1)