Egypt raises interest rates, 1st hike in 3 years (AP)

CAIRO ? Egypt's central bank has raised interest rates for the first time in three years. It follows months of political unrest that have led to an economic slowdown, putting the country's currency under pressure.

The bank said in a statement posted late Thursday that its Monetary Policy Committee decided to raise the overnight deposit rate by 1 percentage point to 9.25 percent.

Also, it raised the overnight lending rate 0.5 percentage points to 10.25 percent and the 7-day repo by 0.5 percentage points to 9.75 percent.

The Standard & Poor's ratings agency on Thursday pushed Egypt's sovereign credit ratings deeper into junk status, citing the country's deteriorating fiscal situation.

Egypt's last interest rate hike came in September 2008.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_egypt_interest_rates

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