Karachi (Web Desk): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday decided to maintain the policy rate at 22 %.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said that the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision to maintain the key policy rate unchanged, for the fifth time in a row, is in line with market expectations as high inflation persists due to the rise in energy prices.
However, he said that the rate in January was expected to ease from the previous month when it was 29.7%.
Pakistan's key rate was raised to an all-time high of 22% in June to fight persistent inflationary pressures and to meet one of the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for securing the bailout.
While the rescue programme has helped to avert a sovereign debt default, some of the attached conditions, such as raising its benchmark interest rate, increasing government revenue, and increasing electricity and natural gas prices, have complicated efforts to curb inflation and have dampened business sentiment.
The SBP last hiked the policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 22% in an emergency meeting in June ahead of an agreement with the IMF. Since then, it has maintained the rate in meetings held on July 31, September 14, October 30 and December 12.
