The Central Bank of Egypt lowered key interest rates by 100 bps on Thursday, 25 December 2025, signaling growing confidence that inflationary pressures are easing after a prolonged period of tight monetary policy, bringing rates to their lowest level since January 2024. The latest data showed annual urban inflation eased to 12.3% in November, down from October’s three-month high of 12.5%, mainly driven by softer increases in food prices (0.7% vs 1.5% in October), the lowest since April 2021. The central bank targets inflation of around 5–9% in Q4 2026, while expecting real GDP growth to reach around 5%. The Monetary Policy Committee also slashed the overnight deposit rate to 20.0%, the overnight lending rate to 21.0%, and the main operation rate to 20.50%, while the discount rate was reduced to 20.50%. Egypt has maintained elevated borrowing costs for much of the past two years as it sought to rein in inflation driven by currency devaluations, supply shocks, and fiscal pressures.
