Gulf central banks raise interest rates after US Federal Reserve hike – The National

Gulf central banks raise interest rates after US Federal Reserve hike – The National

The central banks of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait increased their benchmark interest rates after the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise its key rates to rein in inflation, which has hit a 40-year high in the world's largest economy.

Most GCC central banks follow the Fed's moves on key interest rates due to their currency peg to the US dollar, with the exception of Kuwait, whose dinar is linked to a basket of currencies.

The Saudi Central Bank raised its repo rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25 per cent and the reverse repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 0.75 per cent.