The Egyptian Central Bank kept key interest rates unchanged, in an unexpected move for a round of monetary easing that started in August.
The Central Bank revealed that the preliminary data indicate the stability of the real GDP growth rate to record 5.6% during the third quarter of 2019, after it recorded 5.65 during the fiscal year 2018/2019, the highest rate since the fiscal year 2007/2008.
Available data up to the second quarter of 2019 showed an increase in the contribution of domestic private demand to lead the growth of economic activity since the beginning of 2019, exceeding the contribution of net exports. The increase in the contribution of private domestic demand came as a result of the acceleration in the growth of private investments, which recorded the highest rate during the fiscal year 2018/2019 since the fiscal year 2005/06, as well as the gradual recovery in private consumption.
The Central Bank report showed that the unemployment rate reached 7.8% during the third quarter of 2019 compared to an average of 7.5% during the second quarter of 2019, thus continuing to recover workers’ numbers for the third quarter in a row.
Source (Arabic CNBC website, Edited)
