The Central Bank of Egypt’s next decision on the interest rate has been highly awaited since the US Federal Reserve decided in its September meeting to reduce interest rates by 50 basis points, reaching a level between 4.75 and five percent.
The US Federal Reserve had kept interest rates unchanged for the eighth time in a row during its meeting in July.
The CBE decided to fix the interest rate in its meeting on September 5 for one night and the Central Bank’s main operation rate at 27.25 percent, 28.25 percent and 27.75 percent respectively, and it also decided to keep the credit and discount rate at 27.75 percent.
Date of the CBE meetings
The Monetary Policy Committee of the CBE will meet on Thursday, October 17, to determine interest rates on deposits and loans, thus leaving two meetings before the end of the year on November 21 and December 26.
Expected scenarios
Economic expert Ashraf Ghorab anticipates that the CBE will move to fix interest rates until the end of this year, to continue the policy of curbing inflation, as monetary tightening policies in advanced and emerging market economies contributed to lowering inflation rates globally.
Ghorab explained that reducing interest rates is still unlikely, especially since inflation rates are still high and we have not reached a rate that allows for a reduction despite its gradual decline.
Some central banks may continue the monetary tightening policy, he said, especially in light of the rise in prices due to the recent successive geopolitical tensions and conflicts in the Middle East region.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
