On Tuesday, the price of the US dollar witnessed a decline at the end of the day against the Egyptian pound in all banks operating in the Egyptian market.
The price of the dollar against the pound recorded a new decline in the Central Bank of Egypt, to record LE19.6217 for purchase, and LE19.7284 for sale.
The price of the dollar in the National Bank of Egypt recorded LE19.63 for purchase, and LE19.69 for sale.
The price of the dollar in Egyptian banks, on Tuesday, October 18, 2022:
Commercial International Bank
LE 19.65 for purchase
LE 19.71 for sale
National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr
LE19.63 for purchase
LE 19.69 for sale
HSBC Bank
LE19.59 for purchase
LE 19.69 for sale
Central Bank of Egypt
LE19.6217 for purchase
LE19.7284 for sale
Ashraf Ghorab said that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank will fix the interest rate unchanged during its meeting next November, at 11.25 percent for deposit and 12.25 percent for lending, stressing that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank may fix the interest rate so as not to increase borrowing burdens on companies and the private sector.
He also explained that raising the interest rate means increasing the interest of loans on investors and companies, which hinders the expansion of investment projects.
On the other hand fixing the interest rate helps investors and the private sector to borrow more to expand its projects and increase production, and this in turn increases the supply of commodities in the market to match the increased demand, thus help reduce prices or at least maintain price stability.
He continued that he expects, in addition to the stabilization in the interest rate, that the Banque Misr and the NBE may issue a savings certificate at a high interest rate on the Egyptian pound, in order to give a real return on customers’ savings, praising the current fiscal and monetary policy of the Central Bank in curbing inflation.
He pointed out that the negative consequences of raising the interest rate is greater than the positive ones, due to its impact on the private sector and investment, and therefore the central bank may resort to fixing the interest rate so as not to put pressure on the business community.
The economist added that four Egyptian banks, namely the NBE, Banque Misr and CIB, approved doubling the interest rate on dollar certificates with different dates, exceeding the interest rate applied globally. The four banks raised the return from 2.25 percent to 5 percent.
