Karachi (Web Desk): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday increased the benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 9.75%, in a bid to counter inflationary pressures, address current account deficit.
“Given rate increases since September and outlook, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) felt that the end goal of mildly positive real interest rates on a forward-looking basis was now close to being achieved,” the central bank said in a statement and added, “Looking ahead, monetary policy settings are expected to remain broadly unchanged in the near-term,” the central bank said in a statement.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) considered key trends and prospects in the real, external and fiscal sectors, and the resulting outlook for monetary conditions and inflation, the statement read.