HC Securities: Egypt’s central bank to hike rates by 200 bps

Egypt’s central bank (CBE) is expected to hike interest rates by 200 basis points during its second meeting in 2023 due on March 30, HC Securities and Investment said in a report on Sunday.

In February, the CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had convened its first meeting for the year, leaving the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation intact at 16.25 percent, 17.25 percent, and 16.75 percent, respectively.

HC also expects Egypt’s inflation to peak at 35.9 percent by July, before falling to 30.3 percent by December, said Heba Monir, a financial analyst and economist at HC.