It’s rough seas over in Egypt as the Israel-Hamas war and Houthi militants’ attacks on Red Sea cargo ships continue to ravage key industries such as tourism, leading to halving revenue from the Suez Canal — two crucial income sources.

• To assist Egypt, the IMF has decided to increase the country’s rescue package to $8B, up from the previously announced $3B in Oct. 2022.
• Egypt’s Central Bank devalued the currency by over 35% to curb inflation and hiked interest rates by 6 percentage points to 27.25%.

Global trade is still a mess: The Suez Canal makes up 15% of global maritime trade, but in the first two months of 2024, shipping volume fell 50% compared to the previous year. And 13 days after being attacked, the sinking of the Rubymar carrier ship last week marked the first vessel to sink since the attacks started last November. Severe droughts at the Panama Canal have also contributed to reduced shipping volumes since the end of last year. So, if you’re wondering why your interest rate cuts aren’t coming as soon as you expected, blame it on the global trade that’s stalling inflation.