Fixing the overnight lending rate at 19.25% and the overnight deposit rate at 18.25%
Dubai – Al Arabiya.net
Published in: May 18, 2023: 09:01 PM GST
Last updated: May 18, 2023: 09:33 PM GST
Today, Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt decided to fix the main interest rates, following a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The bank set the overnight lending rate at 19.25% and the overnight deposit rate at 18.25%.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to maintain the rate of the main operation of the Central Bank at 18.75%, and it was also decided to fix the credit and discount rate at 18.75%.
The rate fixation came in line with the expectations of many analysts, as the majority of expectations suggested that the Central Bank of Egypt would leave overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, after a slight decline in inflation in April and after raising interest rates by 200 basis points in March.
The average forecast of 14 analysts is that the Central Bank will maintain the interest rate on deposits at 18.25% and the lending rate at 19.25% when its Monetary Policy Committee holds its periodic meeting. Three analysts expected an increase in interest rates of 100 basis points, and a fourth analyst expected an increase of 200 basis points.
The Monetary Policy Committee, which seeks to control rising inflation, raised interest rates by 200 basis points at its last meeting on March 30, in line with expectations, bringing the total increase to 1,000 basis points since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
