Egypt Sticks With World’s Highest Real Interest Rate

Egypt kept monetary easing on pause for a third meeting on Thursday, counting on the world’s highest real interest rate to maintain foreign interest in its debt as investors exit other emerging markets.

The Monetary Policy Committee said it held the deposit rate at 8.25% and the lending rate at 9.25%. The decision was predicted by all 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Authorities slashed rates a combined 850 basis points through 2019-20.