Gulf central banks raise interest rates after Fed move
Many Gulf nations have mirrored the US Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates all year. Israel and Egypt have also raised rates, but Turkey has been cutting — despite skyrocketing inflation.
Several Gulf central banks raised interest rates Wednesday.
The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point as it continues to address high inflation in the United States. Almost immediately thereafter, the Saudi Central Bank, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Qatar Central Bank raised their main policy rates by 0.5%.
Kuwait did not immediately announce any monetary decisions.
Many central banks across the Middle East raised interest rates this year due to high inflation across the region and the world. The supply chain disruptions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to global price hikes.
