Arab central banks are tagging along with America’s rate rises

policy in the Middle East these days, jokes a banker, is like taking your kids on a rollercoaster. You would rather be watching from the ground, but there you are, strapped in, trundling up a hill and waiting fearfully for the drop on the other side.America’s Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times this year, most recently on July 27th, when it increased its benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. That has compelled many Arab central banks to do the same—even if they would rather not. Some countries worry that higher borrowing costs will act as an unnecessary drag on economies that are not overheating. Others fear that, to maintain capital inflows, they will need to push rates painfully high, hobbling their economies and squeezing budgets.