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Egypt Central Bank to Ease Rates at Right Time

CAIRO - The Egyptian Central Bank said on Sunday it was not against easing monetary policy, but would only do this at the right time, raising expectations it may leave key overnight interest rates unchanged this week.

By (Reuters)

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Published: Mon 22 Dec 2008, 2:12 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 12:12 PM

Central Bank Governor Farouk El Okdah told a news conference the bank expects inflation to begin dropping to acceptable rates in January, putting the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in a position to cut rates.

The governor also said foreign reserves dipped in November for the first time in four years. Foreign direct investment also fell, shedding 44 per cent in the first quarter of the current 2008/09 fiscal year as the global financial crisis spread.

“We are not against cutting interest rates, but at the right time, when we can totally control inflation,” he said.

“Starting January we will see inflation at acceptable figures and declining further. When we see inflation that satisfies us ... the (bank) will be in a position to ease monetary policy,” he said. “This is when we are sure that our expectations are right.”

Annual inflation in urban parts of the Arab country, the figure the Central Bank says it monitors, rose slightly to 20.3 per cent in November from 20.2 per cent in the year to October.


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