Egypt Cuts Rates First Time in Six Months After Inflation Relief - Bloomberg

Egypt Cuts Rates First Time in Six Months After Inflation Relief - Bloomberg:

Egypt cut interest rates for the first time in six months as slowing inflation and a stable currency allowed the central bank to shrug off the risk of contagion from an emerging-market selloff.

The Monetary Policy Committee reduced its benchmark deposit rate by 150 basis points to 14.25% and its lending rate to 15.25%, the bank said Thursday in a statement. Ten of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a cut of at least 100 basis points.

“As incoming data continued to confirm the moderation of underlying inflationary pressures, the MPC decided to cut key policy rates,” the central bank said. “This remains consistent with achieving the inflation target of 9%, plus or minus 3 percentage points, in 2020 Q4 and price stability over the medium term.”