State Bank unveils new monetary policy today

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is set to announce its new monetary policy today (Monday), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to details, the SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet under the chairmanship of SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed to assess the national and global economic landscape before making a decision on the policy rate. 

The committee will review key economic data, including the current global situation. After the review, a monetary policy statement will be issued through a press release.

According to a survey, 92 percent of economic experts believed that the interest rate would remain at 10.50 percent. 

While some experts said the interest rate is expected to increase by 25 to 50 basis points. In the survey, two percent opine that the interest rate is expected to increase by 50 to 100 basis points.

 In the survey, no one expected a decrease in interest rates, according to the report. The main reason is the rapid increase in oil prices. 

A 25 percent increase was recorded in Brent oil price from last two to three weeks. The oil and diesel prices are already increased from 37 percent to 49 percent

Some economic experts said that Israel, United States and Iran war affected global trade.  They predicted that the Gulf war likely to end within two to five weeks. The majority of economic experts feared a rise in the inflation rate globally.

Reporter: Ashraf Khan