Egypt’s central bank raises interest rates by 1%

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt decided, Thursday, to raise its interest rates by 1 percent.

The rates of the overnight deposit and lending return were raised by 100 basis points, to reach 19.25%, 20.25% and 19.75%, respectively.

The credit and discount rates were raised by 100 basis points to 19.75%.

The Central Bank of Egypt explained the reasons for raising the interest rate in Egypt by 1%, by 100 basis points, after keeping the interest rate unchanged for three times during the current year 2023.

Egypt’s CBE confirmed that the annual rate of general inflation in urban areas rose to 35.7% in June 2023 from 32.7% in May 2023, and the annual rate of core inflation rose to 41.0% in June 2023 from a rate of 40.3% in May 2023. Driven by a broad-based rise in the prices of most consumer price index items as a result of persistent supply shocks.

The Central Bank of Egypt indicated that, in light of these mentioned reasons, and taking into account the balance of risks surrounding inflation, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to raise the basic interest rates at the Central Bank by 100 basis points -1% to avoid inflationary pressures and control inflation expectations.