Egypt cut interest rates for the first time in almost five years, potentially spurring investment key to an economic rebound while easing some of the Middle East’s highest debt-servicing costs.
The central bank reduced the benchmark deposit rate by 225 basis points to 25%, the Monetary Policy Committee said Thursday in a statement. The lending rate was lowered by the same amount to 26%.
Five of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the long-awaited bout of monetary easing. Expectations, though, varied between 75 and 225 basis points of cuts, reflecting the global unpredictability wrought by US President