AKP Phnom Penh,29  August, 2025--
Egypt's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rates by 200 basis points, or 2 percent, citing easing inflationary pressures and stronger-than-expected economic growth.

The Central Bank of Egypt said in a statement that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the deposit rate to 22 percent, the lending rate to 23 percent, and the rate of the main operation to 22.5 percent, while also reducing the discount rate to 22.5 percent.

"This decision reflects the Committee's updated assessment of inflation dynamics and outlook since the previous MPC meeting," it said.

It noted that annual headline inflation decelerated to 13.9 percent in July 2025, down from 14.9 percent in June, while core inflation remained broadly stable at 11.6 percent in July compared to 11.4 percent a month earlier.

"The monthly deflation over the past two months reflects a broader downward trend, supported by broad-based easing in price dynamics and a sufficiently tight monetary stance, which suggests an improvement in inflation expectations," the statement added.

The central bank projected that the inflation "will continue to ease," after it slowed to 15.2 percent in the second quarter of 2025 from 16.5 percent in the previous quarter. The bank expects an average of 14 to 15 percent for 2025, with inflation gradually moving toward its target of 7 percent by the fourth quarter of 2026.

Egypt's central bank had previously cut rates by 2.25 percent in April and by 1 percent in May.

AKP-Xinhua