CAIRO-Inflation in Egypt remained unchanged in July, supporting the central bank's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at its current level. Urban inflation, the main rate monitored by the central bank, was 10.7 per cent in July, according to the website of the Cairo-based Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics. The rate matched the median forecast of four economists according to Bloomberg data. “I don't expect the central bank to raise interest rates before the fourth quarter this year,” Alia Mamdouh, an economist at CI Capital, an Egyptian investment bank, said by telephone before the announcement. “Inflation will pick up in the third quarter.” The central bank, which meets every six weeks to review monetary policy, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 8.25 per cent for seven meetings in a row, saying that it was appropriate to support economic growth and keep prices in check. Core inflation, which excludes the costs of fruits and vegetables as well as regulated prices, was almost unchanged in June at 6.7 percent. The median forecast for the measure in July, which the central bank is due to release later today, was 7.2 per cent according to three economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The economy of the most populous Arab country expanded 5.3 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in June, compared with 4.7 per cent in the previous 12 months. The benchmark EGX30 stock index has gained nearly 4 per cent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Juhayna Food Industries, Egypt's biggest publicly traded seller of dairy products, has gained about 20 per cent since listing on the bourse in mid-June.
