CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee to set interest rates on Thursday

CAIRO – 19 December 2023: The Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet this Thursday for their final meeting of the year, aiming to set interest rates. This MPC meeting is particularly significant as it coincides with Egypt's recently concluded presidential elections, where President Abdelfattah El-Sisi secured a new term.

According to a recent Reuters poll involving 14 financial analysts, the majority of the analysts suggest that the CBE will maintain its deposit rate at 19.25 percent and lending rate at 20.25 percent during the upcoming MPC meeting. However, six of the 14 analysts predict a possible increase ranging between 100 and 300 basis points (bps).

The CBE's MPC previously decided to keep key interest rates unchanged during its November meeting. This decision marked the second occasion in which the committee opted to maintain interest rates following a series of hikes that had boosted key rates by 3 percent since the beginning of 2023.

Given the recent political events, observers will be closely monitoring the committee's stance on interest rates, as it could signal the central bank's approach to supporting economic stability and growth under President El-Sisi's renewed leadership.

Egypt’s annual inflation rate recorded 36.4 percent in November compared to 38.5 percent in October 2023, as reported by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The general consumer price index for the entire republic reached 191.8 points in November 2023.