ISLAMABAD
\nState Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to maintain the policy rate at 9.75 percent, in line with the forward guidance provided in the last monetary policy statement.
\n\u201cAt that time, the MPC had considered the measures taken to lower inflation and keep the ongoing economic recovery sustainable. These measures include a cumulative 275 basis point increase in the policy rate, higher bank cash reserve requirements, regulatory tightening of consumer finance, and curtailment of non-essential imports,\u201d said a press release issued by the SBP.
\nThe decision was made at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday.
\n\u201cWhile headline and core inflation rose in December, both the sequential momentum of inflation and inflation expectations of businesses fell significantly.
\nTogether with low base effects, one-off cost-push pressures from energy tariff increases and the removal of tax exemptions in the Finance (Supplementary) Act are likely to keep year-on-year inflation elevated over the next few months, close to the upper end of the average inflation forecast of 9-11 percent in FY22\u201d the statement added.
\nHinting towards the next MPC meeting scheduled to be held on March 8, the central bank said: \u201cThe MPC will continue to carefully monitor developments affecting medium-term prospects for inflation, financial stability, and growth.\u201d
\n\u201cIf future data outturns require a fine-tuning of monetary policy settings, the MPC expected that any change would be relatively modest,\u201d it said.
\nIt is pertinent to mention here that an interest rate is a tool available with the central bank to control inflation, do away with the unnecessary rupee movement and give a direction to the national economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to maintain the policy rate at 9.75 percent, in line with the forward guidance provided in the last monetary policy statement. \u201cAt that time, the MPC had considered the measures taken to lower inflation and keep the ongoing economic recovery sustainable. These measures include a cumulative 275 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-240544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n