Economics
Egypt Raises Rates to Decade-High to Curb Soaring Inflation
- Central bank raises key rate by 100 basis points to 11.75%
- Move follows a surge in core inflation to seven-year high
A man makes his way past the Central Bank of Egypt in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.
Photographer: Shawn Baldwin/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Egypt’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in at least a decade in an attempt to curb a surge in prices that followed a currency devaluation in March.
Policy makers on Thursday raised the overnight deposit rate by 1 percentage point to 11.75 percent, according to a statement. The overnight lending rate was raised by the same amount to 12.75 percent. A Bloomberg survey showed economists were split before the meeting, with three predicting a hold and three forecasting an increase by as much as 50 basis points.