Egypt’s central bank holds rates as inflation outlook remains exposed to risks
On 24 September, the Central Bank of Egypt kept its overnight deposit rate at 19%, lending rate at 20% and main operation rate at 19.5%. August annual headline inflation was 14.5% and core inflation 14.9%.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt left its key rates unchanged on 24 September. The overnight deposit rate remained 19%, the overnight lending rate 20%, and both the main operation and discount rates 19.5%. The bank said its decision reflected recent inflation and forecasts, together with the balance of risks. This was a decision to maintain the existing restrictive stance, not a rate cut or increase. Policy rates influence borrowing, saving and financing costs, although transmission can take time.
The committee reported annual headline inflation of 14.5% in August 2026 and core inflation of 14.9%. Monthly headline inflation was minus 0.4% in June, 0.0% in July and 0.1% in August. Annual and monthly rates measure different things: the annual figure compares the price level with the same month a year earlier, while the monthly series tracks shorter-term movement. Three low monthly readings do not by themselves mean the overall price level has fallen.
The bank said a decline in food inflation offset increases in electricity tariffs and housing rents. Global energy and agricultural commodity prices had risen amid regional tensions and supply concerns. International commodity costs, domestic monetary conditions and fiscal measures therefore remain relevant to the inflation outlook. The committee lowered its forecast relative to the August meeting and projected headline inflation to stabilize on average in the third quarter of 2026, then gradually converge toward its 7% target, with a margin of plus or minus 2 percentage points, during the second half of 2027.
On economic activity, growth eased to 4.7% in the second quarter of 2026 from 5.0% in the first quarter. The bank put average real growth at 5.1% for FY2025/26 and expected it to remain broadly near that level in FY2026/27. It said output remained below potential and was expected to approach full capacity gradually by the second half of 2027. These are the central bank’s assessment and projections; the reported outturn and future forecast should remain distinct.
The committee highlighted upside risks from renewed regional hostilities, a larger-than-expected pass-through from fiscal consolidation, higher international food prices and persistently elevated global energy costs. Holding rates steady was presented as maintaining sufficient monetary restraint against those risks. The bank said future decisions would reflect incoming data and the inflation outlook. The announcement does not guarantee a rate path; for businesses and households, the next assessments of inflation expectations, commodity costs and demand conditions will be important signals.
HABER PAPER / DATA
Behind the numbers
Inspect the source, read the data, make your own analysis.
Timeline
Egypt’s central bank holds rates as inflation outlook remains exposed to risks
On 24 September, the Central Bank of Egypt kept its overnight deposit rate at 19%, lending rate at 20% and main operation rate at 19.5%. August annual headline inflation was 14.5% and core inflation 14.9%.
Occurred
Egypt’s central bank holds rates as inflation outlook remains exposed to risks
On 24 September, the Central Bank of Egypt kept its overnight deposit rate at 19%, lending rate at 20% and main operation rate at 19.5%. August annual headline inflation was 14.5% and core inflation 14.9%.
Source and methodology
Haber Paper source-linked editorial data compilation; underlying sources retain their separate reuse terms.
The date is the central bank press-release date. Rates are policy settings on the decision date; reference periods for inflation and growth figures are stated separately in the text.
Policy settings on the decision date and inflation rates for separate months retain their source definitions. Policy rates, annual inflation and monthly inflation are not added together.
Policy settings on the decision date and inflation rates for separate months retain their source definitions. Policy rates, annual inflation and monthly inflation are not added together.
Policy settings on the decision date and inflation rates for separate months retain their source definitions. Policy rates, annual inflation and monthly inflation are not added together.
AI-generated symbolic illustration. Conceptual illustration; no actual person, site, document, product design, completed project or measured result is depicted.
The partnership proposes four additional capabilities alongside existing remittance services.
Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)
AI-generated symbolic illustration. Conceptual illustration; no actual person, site, document, product design, completed project or measured result is depicted.
Google Analytics can measure visits and site activity using cookies if you allow it. You can change your choice later.
Measurement and privacy details
Google Analytics measurement starts only if you allow it. After consent, automatic measurement may cover scrolls, outbound link clicks, downloads, video engagement, site searches and basic form interactions; search terms may be detected from URL parameters. This site’s own code does not send form field values; email redaction in automatic measurement is best-effort, not guaranteed. Our manual page-view event uses a cleaned URL. You can change your choice later. Visits that begin with consent may also send numeric LCP, INP and CLS performance measurements after Analytics loads. A first or later grant starts this on the next page load; withdrawing consent stops these performance reports for this page. The preference cookie lasts six months; advertising measurement and personalization stay off.
Your browser is sending a Global Privacy Control signal. Analytics is off by default; you may explicitly change this choice here.
