CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday as inflation remained in double digits a year after the country floated its currency and sent prices shooting higher.
The overnight deposit rate remained at 18.75 per cent and the overnight lending rate at 19.75 per cent, the bank said in a statement.
“The baseline inflation outlook remains consistent with achieving the CBE’s inflation target of 13 per cent (±3 per cent) in 2018 Q4 and single digits thereafter,” the bank said.
Six out of 10 economists polled by Reuters said on Tuesday the bank would keep rates steady, citing still-high inflation as a reason for the central bank to delay loosening its policy.
Egypt’s inflation has climbed since the country floated its currency, the pound, in November last year to secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. (Reuters)
