Mubasher: The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) on Thursday announced raising interest rates for the first time in 2018. The decision follows a similar one taken by the US Federal Reserve late Wednesday.
The QCB decided to raise its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 1.75% from 1.50%, it said in an official statement.
The bank maintained its lending rate at 5.00%, while the QCB repurchase rate (repo) was kept unchanged at 2.50%, the bank added.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve Bank increased interest rates by 25 basis points or 0.25% to a range of 1.50% to 1.75%, marking the first of three or four anticipated rate hikes.
Several GCC members raised interest rates on the back of the Fed’s move including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE.
In 2017, the QCB hikes rates in Qatar three times, in line with similar moves taken by the US Fed.
