KARACHI: On Thursday, the financial markets were left in surprise as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kept its benchmark policy rate (cost of bank lending) unchanged at 22 per cent. Earlier, it was expected that an aggressive hike of up to 300 basis points would occur.
SBP, in its statement, said that as per the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision, the policy rate would stand at 22 per cent. They added that the decision came after viewing the latest inflation outturn that showed a continuous decline in inflation to 27.4 per cent in August 2023 from its peak of 38 per cent in May 2023.
1/4 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to maintain the policy rate at 22 percent in its meeting today. https://t.co/Rns1WF4AsB#SBPMonetaryPolicy pic.twitter.com/HT9w9wWZAU
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) September 14, 2023
The central bank further said that despite a rise in global oil prices and passing them on to consumers via administered energy price adjustments, inflation is projected to remain on a downward trajectory.
In November 2022, SBP increased the policy rate due to political instability and poor economic conditions.
