The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in an online conference on Wednesday that the second tranche of the $12 billion loan to Egypt will be disbursed to Cairo in late April, praising Egypt's “good start” in implementing its economic reform programme.

Egypt's central bank left its key policy rates steady, as expected, confirming that rates are currently appropriate given the balance of risks and it "will not hesitate to adjust the key CBE rates to ensure price stability over the medium-term."

The World Bank will hold a meeting Tuesday to approve second $1 bln tranche of $3 bln loan to support Egypt's budget.

Egypt’s annual headline inflation hit its highest level in at least seven years to register 20.2 percent in November 2016 compared to 11.8 percent for the same month last year, state statistics body CAPMAS said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday.