Egypt's Central Bank holds interest rate steady

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt decided to keep the benchmark interest rates unchanged, maintaining the overnight deposit and lending rates and the central bank’s main operation rate at 19%, 20%, and 19.5%, respectively. The discount and rediscount rates were also kept at 19.5%.

Annual inflation in Egyptian cities slowed to 14.5% in August from 14.9% in July, while core inflation edged up slightly to 14.9% from 14.7%. This is consistent with an assessment issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which noted that Egypt is in a stronger position to withstand the regional crisis, but also warned that economic resilience alone will not mitigate vulnerabilities.

The IMF highlighted rising debt levels and reliance on short-term financing, with financing needs expected to gradually decline to below 30% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. The IMF stated that achieving this will require maintaining exchange rate flexibility, pursuing an appropriately tight monetary policy, and adhering to fiscal discipline.