Gulf central banks cut interest rates by 25 basis points following the Fed's decision.

A number of Gulf central banks have decided to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in line with the US Federal Reserve’s decision today.

The Saudi Central Bank quickly reduced the repurchase agreement (repo) rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, and also reduced the reverse repurchase agreement (reverse repo) rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%.

The Central Bank of the UAE has reduced the base rate on overnight deposit facilities by 25 basis points from 3.90% to 3.65%, effective Thursday, December 11.

The Qatar Central Bank also moved to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing the deposit rate to 3.85%, the lending rate to 4.35%, and the repurchase rate to 4.1%.

The Central Bank of Bahrain also decided to reduce the overnight deposit interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%.

The Central Bank of Kuwait also moved to reduce the discount rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% starting from December 11.

The move by Gulf banks comes after the Federal Open Market Committee voted on Wednesday to cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, marking the third cut in borrowing rates since Donald Trump took office, after keeping it unchanged in five consecutive meetings.