Search Site

Trends banner

Eni profit falls due to dip in oil prices

Q2 net profit fell by 18% to $637 million.

Emirates NBD H1 profit $3.40bn

Total income rose by 12 percent in the same period.

ADIB H1 pre-tax profit $1.08bn

Q2 pre-tax net profit increases by 14 percent.

AstraZeneca to invest $50bn in US

Bulk of funds to go into a Virginia manufacturing center.

UAB net profit up by 50% for H1

Total assets increase by 11 percent.

Egypt central bank raises key interest rates by 300 bps

Cars drive past the Egyptian Central Bank in downtown Cairo. (AFP)
  • The MPC raised the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation to 16.25 percent, 17.25 percent, and 16.75 percent
  • The latest decision comes a week after after the announcement of a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) $3 billion loan for Egypt

Cairo, Egypt— The Central Bank of Egypt has raised the overnight interest rates by 300 basis points, exceeding expectations.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt raised the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation to 16.25 percent, 17.25 percent, and 16.75 percent, respectively. The discount rate was also raised by 300 basis points to 16.75 percent.

This is the fourth time that the MPC has decided to raise key interest rates since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February, which triggered inflationary pressures on the Egyptian economy.

Also read: Egypt’s central bank cancels maximum cash deposit limit in banks

The annual core inflation rate recorded 21.5 percent in November, up from 19 percent in October, according to the CBE.

The MPC had raised key interest rates by a total of 500 bps, in three separate moves, since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Also read: Central Bank of Egypt keeps interest rates unchanged

Analysts had expected that the MPC would raise the interest rates by a maximum of 2 percent (200 bps) to reign in inflation.

The latest MPC decision comes a week after after the announcement of a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) $3 billion loan for Egypt.