Egypt's economic structure becomes more sustainable: CBE

CAIRO – 18 August 2017: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said Thursday that the available data until March 2017 show that the economic growth structure of Egypt has changed and became more sustainable.

Consumption's contribution decreased, while net exports, investments, and sectors such as tourism, natural gas, trade, building and construction, and non-oil manufacturing industries highly contributed to the economic growth, the CBE added.

Late Thursday, CBE's Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep interest rates on hold. The committee kept the overnight deposit and lending rates at 18.75 to 19.75 percent, respectively.

The CBE said in a statement that July’s annual inflation increased to 33 percent, up from 29.8 percent in June “as expected.”

The move matched forecasts of economic analysts. HC Securities said in a Wednesday note that the current interest rates will remain stable to benefit from them until inflation rates return to normal levels in September.