Listen to the news

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt raised the level of the main interest rate by two percent (200 points), Al Ahram reported.

This is the first increase for 2023. 

The decision was motivated by the record depreciation of the local currency.

Annual inflation reached 31.2 percent in January and an all-time high of 40.3 percent in February. 

Meanwhile, Egypt's gross domestic product growth slowed to 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 4.4 percent in the third quarter of the same year.

The Monetary Policy Committee expects the slowdown to continue this year. 

In 2022, the Central Bank increased the main interest rate by a total of eight percent (800 points).

The Egyptian pound depreciated by almost one hundred percent against the dollar in one year, BTA reported.