Egypt's central bank holds interest rates

The headquarters of Egypt's Central Bank in downtown Cairo, Egypt. [Photo: Reuters]

CAIRO - Egypt’s central bank left its key overnight interest rates steady on Thursday, keeping the deposit rate at 16.75 percent and the lending rate at 17.75 percent.

All 13 economists polled by Reuters had expected rates to remain unchanged.

 “Current policy rates and the inflation outlook remain in line with achieving the targeted disinflation path,” the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said in a statement.

“The MPC closely monitors all economic developments and will not hesitate to adjust its stance to achieve its mandate of price stability over the medium term,” it said.

Headline inflation slowed to 15.7 percent in November from 17.7 percent in October as fruit and vegetable prices declined, after rising for three consecutive months.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food, slowed to 7.94 percent in November, its lowest since April 2016, from 8.86 percent in October.

GDP grew by 5.3 percent in the fiscal year that ended in June 2018, the highest rate in 10 years.