By Ahmed Allam, Mahmoud Salah Eddin

Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged during a meeting late Thursday, as the bank manages to curb inflation and commodity prices, analysts told Mubasher.

Salah Haydar, financial analyst at Pioneers Securities ruled out a change in policy rates, especially ahead of the official opening of the New Suez Canal and the launch of a master plan for development projects in the Suez Canal region.

The analyst cited waning concerns about the impact of local currency’s recent depreciation against the US dollar on inflation rates, after global commodity prices fell to their lowest levels since 2010.

Dr. Hisham Ibrahim, professor of financing at Cairo University, also expects the central bank to keep policy rates unchanged. However, he noted that a ‘brave’ decision to cut rates further would be for the best interest of the national economy.

“A cut in interest rates will lower cost of financing, and thus reflect positively on commodity costs and production,” said Ibrahim.

Basant Ibrahim, advisor at Al Baraka Bank pointed out that a hike in policy rates would raise the high cost of external debts.

The central bank kept in its latest meeting on 11 June benchmark interest rates unchanged. The bank kept the overnight deposit and lending rates at 8.75% and 9.75%, respectively, the CBE said in a statement. The CBE has maintained the interest rates at the last three meetings.

Translated by Sayed Abdel Rahman