CAIRO: The Egyptian central bank cut its key overnight interest rates by 100 basis points, citing a fall in inflation and an expected economic slowdown, the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Friday. The bank reduced overnight interest rates for deposit to 10.5 percent and to 12.5 percent for lending in the first rate cut since April 2006, according to Reuters data. Annual inflation in urban areas of Egypt fell to 14.3 percent in January, the lowest level in 10 months, largely due to base effects and a 0.5 percent decline in food prices.
