Egypt’s central bank expected to cut rates for second time

Egypt’s central bank is expected to cut its key interest rates for the second time in a row at its meeting on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday, as inflation dropped to its lowest in more than a year.

Nine out of 11 economists polled by Reuters said the bank on Thursday will cut the deposit and lending rates, currently at 17.75 and 18.75 percent, by 100 basis points.

The central bank raised key rates by seven percentage points after it floated the currency to combat soaring inflation. It cut them by one point last month.

Inflation climbed after Egypt floated its currency in November 2016, reaching a record high of about 35 percent in July following cuts in energy subsidies. It has gradually eased since.

Annual urban consumer price inflation fell to 14.4 percent in February while core inflation, which strips out volatile items like food, fell to 11.88 percent.