KARACHI, May 23(ABC): Pakistan’s central bank is scheduled to meet today (Monday) to announce its key policy rate for the next six weeks to maintain the balance between inflation and economic growth.
On April 7, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in a surprise move, raised its benchmark interest rate by a significant 250 basis points (bps) to 12.25% to safeguard external and price stability.
The SBP has cumulatively increased the rate by 525 basis points since September 2021 to control inflation and narrow the current account deficit.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet for the first time under the leadership of acting governor Dr Murtaza Syed to take decisions regarding the key policy rate.
Market speculations hint toward a 100 bps increase, which would take the rate to 13.25% as the central bank would look forward to countering a high inflation reading and likely surge in energy prices to pave the way for reviving the stalled multibillion-dollar International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
A section of pundits feels, however, that the monetary policy decision may not be as predictable this time around as anticipated due to uncertainties at the global, regional and domestic levels in the political and economic arenas.
