Egypt cuts key interest rates by 1 pct as inflation slightly down

CAIRO, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Thursday lowered its key interest rates by 100 basis points, or 1 percent, the CBE reported.

The CBE said in a statement that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the deposit rate to 20 percent, the lending rate to 21 percent, and the rate of the main operation to 20.5 percent, while also reducing the discount rate to 20.5 percent.

"This decision reflects the committee's updated assessment of inflation dynamics and outlook since the previous MPC meeting," it said.

According to an earlier CBE report, annual urban headline inflation in Egypt eased slightly to 12.3 percent in November, down from 12.5 percent in October, driven by a slowdown in food price inflation, which declined to 0.7 percent in November from 1.5 percent a month earlier.

This marks the fifth interest rate cut by Egypt's central bank so far this year. ■