The Central Bank of Egypt maintains key interest rates

أبقى البنك المركزي المصري أسعار الفائدة على الودائع دون تغيير يوم الخميس، موضحًا أن القرار يعكس تقييمه لديناميكيات التضخم الحالية والمتوقعة “في ظل بيئة خارجية غير مواتية”.

The Monetary Policy Committee kept the interest rate on deposits at 19% and the interest rate on loans at 20%.

The Central Bank added that Egypt's real GDP growth declined to 5% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, with expectations of a further slowdown in the second quarter due to the continuation of the regional conflict.

This decision is consistent with a poll conducted by Reuters and published on Monday, which expected the bank to keep deposit interest rates unchanged, in light of continuing fears of rising inflation as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The annual consumer price inflation rate in Egyptian cities unexpectedly fell to 14.9% in April, compared to 15.2% in the previous month. This rate is still well above the central bank's target of achieving an inflation rate of between 5% and 9% by the last quarter of 2026.

Egypt's core inflation rate, which excludes volatile commodity prices such as food and fuel, fell to 13.8% year-on-year in April, compared to 14% in March.