Egypt held interest rates steady on Thursday, counting on last month’s record cut being enough to support the economy without exposing its debt to an emerging market sell-off spurred by the coronavirus.

The central bank maintained the deposit rate at 9.25% and the lending rate at 10.25%, according to a statement. Nine of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a hold after authorities slashed 300 basis points at an emergency meeting on March 16.

The Monetary Policy Committee said it “moved preemptively” to bolster businesses and households, and its prior cut “should support employment in these exceptional times, which is essential in order to avoid a prolonged slowdown in economic activity and help speed the recovery once the outbreak is contained.”

Egypt, which has reported 850 cases of the virus including 52 deaths, is seeking to avert the outflows that have seen investors pull a record $83.3 billion from other developing-nation equity and debt markets in March. The North African nation’s currency has for now bucked the trend, posting the second-best global performance against the dollar this year.

Keeping the pound strong will be a challenge, with Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency -- tourism, remittances and Suez Canal receipts -- all threatened by a combination of the virus and the oil-price crash. The government has implemented a nighttime curfew and other restrictions to stem the outbreak in the country of about 100 million people.