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* reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/cb-pollsRIC=EGINTR%3DECI overnight deposit rate poll data
By Eric Knecht
CAIRO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Egypt's central bank is expectedto keep interest rates unchanged at its next policy meeting andhold back on more rate cuts this year until inflation steadies,a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
Twelve economists polled by Reuters said the Central Bank ofEgypt (CBE) was likely to maintain its deposit and lending ratesat 16.75 and 17.75 percent when it meets on Thursday.
They said the bank was unlikely to further cut rates afterslashing them by 200 basis points earlier this year, untilinflation cools following a jump in June on the back of pricehikes to energy and transportation.
"We expect the Central Bank of Egypt to opt for stable ratesawaiting signs that the headline monthly inflation numbers havestabilized," said Mohamed Abu Basha, head of macroeconomicanalysis at EFG Hermes.
After rising in June, annual inflation dipped in July, withheadline inflation slowing to 13.5 percent from 14.4 percent inJune and core inflation, which strips out volatile items likefood, falling to 8.54 percent from 10.9 percent, the firstsingle-digit reading since April 2016.
Import-dependent Egypt has been battling inflation that ranas high as 35 percent last year after it floated its currency inlate-2016, part of a three-year $12 billion IMF loan programmethat includes other price rising measures such as cuts toelectricity and fuel subsidies.
The central bank hiked its key interest rates by a total of700 basis points as prices climbed after the float but has easedthem by 200 points since February as inflation edged closer tosingle digits.
Still, economists said the bank would likely hold off onfurther cuts as it eyed the impact of the latest energy subsidycuts, with a view to further easing before year-end.
"The Central Bank of Egypt would prefer seeing through thefull impacts of the recent subsidy cuts before shifting the gearon monetary policy," said head of research as Naeem BrokerageAllen Sandeep.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Eric Knecht; Additional reporting by PatrickWerr; Editing by Hugh Lawson) ((eric.knecht@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2394 8102; ReutersMessaging: eric.knecht.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
