06 Jun 2021

Goldman Sachs’ MENA economist Farouk Soussa told Bloomberg that the CBE (Central Bank of Egypt) can afford to cut interest rates at its meeting this month. He estimates that the possible cuts could be up to 50bps.

Egypt currently has the highest real interest rates among emerging markets, and inflation has recently slowed down. Soussa sees that a rate cut would not make Egypt’s important carry trade less attractive as the current high rates give policymakers enough room to be more aggressive. He expects that any potential tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve in response to rising domestic inflation will not have a detrimental effect on Egypt, and states that Goldman Sachs currently maintains its bullish stance on Egyptian bonds in both local and hard currency. (Source: Bloomberg (English), Enterprise (English))