CAIRO - Egypt's central bank kept its overnight ​interest rates ⁠unchanged on Thursday, saying that the decision ‌reflected its assessment of current inflation dynamics and the ​evolving outlook since the previous Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

The ​monetary policy committee ​held the deposit rate at 19% and the lending rate at 20%. 

* The ⁠central bank estimated that real GDP growth will experience a mild deceleration in Q2 2026 due to the adverse impact of the ​regional ‌conflict on economic ⁠activity.

* The ⁠bank projected that Egypt's real GDP growth will average ​around 5% for fiscal ‌year 2025/26.

* The CBE's decision ⁠is aligned with a Reuters poll published on Monday that predicted the bank would keep overnight interest rates on hold as a tentative easing of regional tensions offers some relief.

* Egypt's annual urban consumer inflation slowed slightly to 14.3% in June from 14.6% ‌the month before, statistics agency CAPMAS said on ⁠Thursday.

* Egypt's core inflation, ​which strips out volatile items such as food and fuel, rose to 14.3% in June ​from 13.8% ‌in May.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab ⁠and Enas Alashray; ​Editing by William Maclean and Aurora Ellis)