Egypt’s central bank becomes latest to cut interest rates

In a surprise decision today, Egypt’s central bank (CBE) became the latest in the emerging world to cut interest rates. Although the slide in oil prices is unlikely to have much direct impact on domestic inflation, it has helped to ease strains in the balance of payments. We are bringing forward the cuts in rates that we had expected to take place in 2016 to this year. Accordingly, we expect at least another 50bp reduction over the coming months.