CAIRO, Dec 25  - Egypt’s central bank ‍cut its overnight ‍interest rates by 100 basis points on Thursday, it ​said in a statement.

* The monetary policy committee cut the overnight ⁠deposit rate to 20% from 21% and the lending rate to 21% ⁠from 22%.

* The ‌central bank expected real GDP growth to reach around 5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared ⁠to 5.3% in the previous quarter. It attributed growth in the third quarter of 2025 to "positive contributions from non-petroleum manufacturing, trade, and communications".

* The decision is aligned with ⁠a Reuters poll published ​on Monday that predicted the bank would lower its overnight interest rates by a median one ‍percentage point, following an easing in inflation in November.

* Annual headline inflation ​is projected to stabilise near the current level in the fourth quarter of 2025, at an average of around 14% in 2025, down from 28.3% the previous year.

* Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation edged lower to 12.3% in November, while core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food and fuel, rose to 12.5% on an annual basis in November from 12.1%.

* The central ⁠bank targets inflation of around 7% +/- ‌2 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2026. It said, however, that "relatively persistent non-food inflation, and the impact of fiscal ‌measures" pose ⁠risks to the outlook.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha, Ahmed Tolba and Yomna ⁠Ehab; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Barbara Lewis)