Egypt’s central bank hikes key interest rates by 2%

Cairo (AP) — Egypt’s central bank has announced that it raised interest rates by 2% in a bid to combat the Arab country’s surging inflation. The institution said Thursday it had raised the lending rate, the deposit rate and the discount rate. The intervention is primarily designed to offset rising inflation, which passed 15% in September. The move also is designed to lighten financial pressures on lower- and middle- income households. The Egyptian economy has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. About a third of Egypt’s 104 million people live in poverty.