Egypt bank keeps benchmark rates unchanged

An Egyptian soldier climbs the stairs outside Egypt’s central bank in Cairo. Egypt’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged at a monetary policy committee meeting yesterday. The overnight deposit rate remains 8.75% and the overnight lending rate is steady at 9.75%, the bank said in a statement. The central bank also kept the pound steady at 7.53 to the dollar at a foreign exchange auction while the currency weakened on the black market. The central bank has kept the official exchange rate steady for more than two months since letting the pound weaken at the beginning of 2015. This step and other measures have helped to reduce black market trading significantly.