The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided in an unscheduled meeting on March 16 to cut interest rates by 300 basis points, Invest-Gate reports.

The country’s overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation by 300 basis points to 9.25%, 10.25%, and 9.75%, respectively, according to an official statement released by the CBE on the same date.

The CBE’s decision comes “in light of the recent global developments following the COVID-19 outbreak globally,” the statement added.

The MPC  said it will continue to closely monitor all economic updates and will not hesitate to adjust its stance to achieve its price stability mandate over the medium term.

The committee’s decision provides “appropriate support to domestic economic activity given the current challenging external environment, while the inflation outlook remains consistent with achieving the inflation target of 9% (±3 percentage points) in Q4 of 2020,” the CBE highlighted.