Egypt central bank seen holding interest rates steady
Egypt interest poll data: reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/cb-polls?RIC=EGINTR%3DECI
CAIRO, Sept 2 (Reuters) -The Central Bank of Egypt CBE will leave its overnight interest rates unchanged when its monetary policy committee meets on Thursday as inflation continues to decline,a poll of analysts forecast.
The CBE kept rates steady at its last two meetings, on July 18 and May 23, saying economic growth remained slow but that inflation had been decreasing.
On March 6, the bank raised rates by 600 basis points (bps) as part of an $8 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund, bringing total increases since the beginning of the year to 800 bps.
The median forecast in a poll of 15 analysts was for the central bank to hold its deposit rate steady at 27.25% and lending rate at 28.25% when the committee meets. Only one analyst expected the bank to lower rates by 100 bps.
"We anticipate interest rates being left on hold by the CBE given inflation remains well above target," said James Swanston of Capital Economics.
"However, momentum is in the right direction and with a sharper fall anticipated in the headline rate in early 2025, attention will turn to when that first rate cut will be - for our part, we have pencilled it in for Q1 2025."
Inflation dropped to 25.7% in July, the first time the real interest rate has been positive since January 2022. Inflation had fallen from a record 38% in September to 27.5% in June.
The monetary policy committee said it was targeting inflation of below 9% by the end of 2024.
Egypt allowed its currency to plunge to under 50 to the dollar as part of its agreement with the IMF in March after having fixed it at 30.85 for a year. The Egyptian pound has since strengthened to about 48.6 to the dollar.
Reporting by Patrick Werr; Editing by Alex Richardson
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.