(Al-Borsa Photo)
By Menna Zaki
The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee announced in an official statement that it would be keeping the overnight deposit rate, the overnight lending rate and the rate of main operations unchanged at 8.25%, 9.25% and 8.75% respectively.
The bank added that the discount rate will remain unchanged at 8.75%.
The bank said that the current rates announced are appropriate “given the mixed balance of risks surrounding the inflation and the GDP outlooks at this juncture.”
In February, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics’ (CAPMAS) monthly report indicated that inflation rates surged by 12.2% compared to the same period last year.
CAPMAS also highlighted that inflation increased by 1.6% between December 2013 and January 2014.
During the first quarter of the 2013/2014 fiscal year, the gross domestic production (GDP) registered a 1% growth, compared to 2.6% during the same period the preceding year.
The bank pointed out that the “modest growth” in key sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, tourism and petroleum, are reflected in the GDP.
“Investment levels remained low given the heightened uncertainty that faced market participants since early 2011 and the weak credit growth to the private sector,” the bank said.
