The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee kept its key rates unchanged on 21 May 2026, its second hold in a row. The overnight deposit rate stayed at 19.00%, the overnight lending rate at 20.00%, and the main operation and discount rates at 19.50%.
FORECASTS RAISED
Annual urban headline inflation was 14.9% in April, after 15.2% in March, and core inflation 13.8%. The committee said the hold provides additional time to assess the indirect effects of current supply shocks on inflation, and said it expected annual headline inflation to accelerate through the third quarter of 2026 before declining gradually from the first quarter of 2027 towards its 7% (±2 percentage points) target in the second half of 2027.