The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is anticipated to keep its overnight interest rates unchanged at its upcoming monetary policy committee meeting on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.

The median forecast from a survey of 15 analysts suggests the central bank will maintain its deposit rate at 27.25% and its lending rate at 28.25%. Only one analyst predicted a 100 bps rate cut.

Following its previous two meetings on July 18 and May 23, where the CBE held rates steady, the bank has cited a slow economic growth but a continued decline in inflation as key factors in its decision.

In March, the CBE implemented a significant rate hike of 600 basis points (bps) as part of the $8 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), marking a total increase of 800 bps since the beginning of the year.

Inflation has decreased to 25.7% as of July, marking the first instance of a positive real interest rate since January 2022. This follows a decline from a peak of 38% in September to 27.5% in June.

The CBE has set a target to reduce inflation to below 9% by the end of 2024. Additionally, Egypt's currency, the pound, was allowed to depreciate to below 50 per dollar in March under its IMF agreement, following a fixed rate of 30.85 for the preceding year.