For the first time since 2020 .. The Central Egypt reduces interest rates

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Egyptian Central Bank decided today, Thursday, to reduce interest rates 225 basis points for the first time since November 2020.

The committee said in a statement that it reduced the return return for one night to 25 percent, and also reduced the lending return for one night to 26 %.

A Reuters poll included 17 analysts that had expected to reduce interest rates 200 basis points.

The bank said in a statement that “inflation is still vulnerable to upward risks, including the exacerbation of geopolitical tension and the continued unrest in global trade as a result of the escalation of protectionist policies,” the bank said in the global level.

He added, “As for the local level, the initial indicators of the first quarter of 2025 are useful for recovering the economic activity in a sustainable manner for the fourth quarter in a row, as the growth rate exceeded the rate of 4.3 % recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.”

This is the first change in interest rates since the bank raised 600 basis points in an exceptional meeting during March in the framework of a loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, and at that time allowed the value of the local currency to decline dramatically against the dollar.

The bank is working to control inflation, which is heading from its 38 percent peak in September 2023. Inflation in Egyptian cities decreased to 12.8 % in February and 13.6 % in March from 24 % in January, with great support from the impact of the foundation year.