The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced its decision to maintain the overnight deposit interest rate unchanged at 4.5%.

This decision was taken following the US Federal Reserve’s announcement today to keep the Interest Rate on Reserve Balances (IORB) unchanged. Stocks edged up on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve move.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said there are signs that financial conditions have tightened over the weeks since the central bank conducted a hike in September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.19%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite did so 0.27%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.28%.

Announcing the move, CBB said it comes as part of the review conducted by its experts to maintain monetary and financial stability in the Kingdom of Bahrain in light of global financial market developments.

UAE too has decided to maintain the Base Rate applicable to the Overnight Deposit Facility (ODF) at 3.9%.

The CBUAE has also decided to maintain the interest rate applicable to borrowing short-term liquidity from the CBUAE at 50 basis points above the Base Rate for all standing credit facilities.

The Base Rate, which is anchored to the US Federal Reserve’s IORB, signals the general stance of monetary policy and provides an effective floor for overnight money market interest rates in the UAE.

The Qatar Central Bank too followed suit keeping its existing deposit, lending, and repurchase (repo) rates unchanged, following an assessment of the country’s current monetary policy.

In a post on its official account on the platform "X," the bank confirmed that the deposit rate (QCBDR) remains at 4.10%, while the lending rate (QCBLR) stays at 4.60%.

Additionally, the Qatar Central Bank maintained its repurchase rate (QCB Repo Rate) at 4.35%.-TradeArabia News Service