Pre-Trading Thoughts

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) hiked interest rates by 100 basis points on Thursday. The contraction in Egypt’s non-oil private sector slowed to its softest pace in nearly two years in July, suggesting initial pointers of a recovery in market demand following a lengthy downturn. The country’s PMI rose for a fourth consecutive month to hit 49.2 in July from 49.1 in June. The government, in cooperation with the IFC, is studying offering minority stakes owned by state-owned agenci...