CAIRO: Egypt’s central bank on Thursday raised its rate for overnight deposits by 100 basis points and for overnight lending by 50 basis points in a move that caught economists by surprise.
It was the central’s bank first change in rates since Sept. 17, 2009. The deposit rate was set at 9.25 percent and the lending rate at 10.25 percent.
The central bank also raised its discount rate by 100 basis points to 9.5 percent.
Ten out of 11 economists in a Reuters survey had forecast that overnight rates would be unchanged at 9.75 percent for lending and 8.25 percent for deposits. One had predicted a hike of 50 basis point for both rates.
