The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has made the third consecutive cut to key rates by 1%, a step coming shortly after the annual headline inflation rate hit its lowest level in 14 years and logged 3.1% in October, Invest-Gate reports.

Under the move, the overnight deposit and lending rates have been slashed to 12.25% and 13.25%, respectively, the central bank announced on November 9.

“Incoming data continued to confirm the moderation of underlying inflationary pressures, notwithstanding the expected impact of unfavorable base effects,” the CBE asserted, attributing its decision to the central banks’ persistence to ease monetary policy globally.

On another note, inflation rates have been seeing a downtrend for long enough, with the annual urban inflation decelerating to 3.1%, its lowest recording in nine years, from 4.8% the earlier month. Meanwhile, the core inflation rate, which strips out volatile food and energy categories, rose to 2.7% last month from 2.6% in September, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) reported on November 9.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) reform program had helped the government get its budget deficit under control, precluding the need to expand the money supply. This, in turn, has dwindled some of the inflationary pressures, namely interest rates, which hit almost 8.5% as of late September.