Egypt's central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying the decision reflects the Monetary Policy Committee's assessment of the latest inflation developments and outlook since its previous meeting. The committee held the deposit rate at 19% and the lending rate at 20%.
The central bank's preliminary estimates for the second quarter of 2026 point to a slight slowdown in real GDP growth, reflecting the negative impact of regional conflict on economic activity.
The central bank's estimates for real GDP growth are expected to reach around 5% on average for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
The decision is in line with a Reuters poll published on Monday, in which expectations were that the bank would hold overnight interest rates unchanged due to an initial easing in regional tensions.
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said on Thursday that annual consumer price inflation in Egypt's cities slowed to 14.3% in June from 14.6% in May.
Egypt's core inflation rate, which excludes prices of volatile items such as food and fuel, rose to 14.3% in June from 13.8% in May.