Egypt reduces interest rates by 100 basis points

The Central Bank of Egypt said in a statement today that the Monetary Policy Committee reduced interest rates by 100 basis points.
The committee said that it reduced the interest rate on overnight lending to 20 percent and on deposits to 19 percent, from 21 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
The annual inflation rate in Egyptian cities fell to 11.9 percent in January, and core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile commodities such as food and fuel, fell to 11.2 percent on an annual basis in January from 11.8 percent in December. According to the statement, the bank’s board of directors also decided to reduce the percentage of cash reserves that banks are obligated to keep with the central bank from 18 percent to 16 percent.