Egypt.. The Central Bank announces an increase in interest rates and explains the reason

The Central Bank of Egypt announced in a statement, Thursday, that it decided to raise the interest rate by 1% for lending and deposits, in order to maintain the downward path of inflation rates.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt said in a statement published by the bank’s official Facebook account that it decided to raise the basic interest rates by 100 basis points.

The committee added: “Accordingly, it was decided to raise the overnight deposit and lending rates and the Central Bank’s main operation rate to 20.0%, 21.0% and 20.5%, respectively; the credit and discount rates were also raised to 20.5%.”

The committee explained, "This decision comes in light of an unfavorable external environment and escalating uncertainty, and aims to consolidate expectations and maintain the downward path of inflation."

The US Federal Reserve decided, on Wednesday, to keep interest rates unchanged, within a range between 3.75 and 4%, in light of continued inflationary pressures and uncertainty resulting from the war in the Middle East.

The Egyptian Stock Exchange continued its decline for the eighth session in a row, at the end of last Tuesday’s trading, with continued selling pressure from Egyptian and foreign investors, while Arab trading tended to buy, at a time when market movement showed a decline in the severity of the decline compared to Monday’s session.