Egypt central bank keeps main interest rates unchanged

Egypt's central bank kept benchmark interest rates unchanged on Thursday, it said in a statement.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the overnight deposit rate at 9.25 percent and the overnight lending rate at 10.25 percent.

Egypt has been struggling to restore growth since a mass uprising in 2011 drove away tourists and foreign investors, the major sources of hard currency.

Nine of ten contributors in a Reuters poll had expected the MPC to keep rates on hold on Thursday.

The central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points last month, the first hike since July 2014, citing inflationary pressures.

Urban consumer inflation was steady at 11.1 percent in December, unchanged from the previous month, while core inflation eased to 7.23 percent.

Egypt has been under pressure to devalue the pound but newly appointed Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer has led a drive to support the currency despite dwindling foreign reserves.

Reserves have almost halved to $16.4 billion and the central bank has been holding weekly auctions to keep the pound artificially strong.

The government projects growth of around 5.5 percent this fiscal year, compared with an estimated 4.2 percent in 2014/15