Cairo – Mubasher: Fitch Solutions on Wednesday said that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is likely to maintain interest rates unchanged over the next few months.

The CBE is expected to keep interest rates on hold due to subsidy cuts and its impact on higher inflation, according to a report.

The New York-based agency projected the central bank to resume its rate-cutting cycle in the first half of 2019 when price pressures ease.

“The pace of easing [prices] will likely be gradual amid more challenging external conditions and persistent risks of capital flight,” Fitch said.

Moreover, Fitch projected the CBE’s overnight deposit and lending rates to fall by around 200 basis points (bps) by the end of 2019 at 14.75% and 15.75%, respectively.

The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to review interest rates on Thursday, 14 February.