The development comes ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) review for the release of the second tranche of $710 million.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate – the cost of bank lending – at 22 percent, ARY News reported, citing a statement by central bank.
The announcement came after a meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which decided to maintain the policy rate at 22%.
According to a statement, the MPC emphasised on continuing with the tight monetary policy stance and reiterated that the “real policy rate is significantly positive on forward-looking basis to bring inflation down to 5 – 7 percent by end-FY25”.
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“MPC emphasised that achieving medium-term inflation target is based on continued fiscal consolidation and timely realization of planned external inflows,” the statement added.
The development comes ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) review for the release of the second tranche of $710 million.
The central bank has raised its policy rate by a cumulative 1,500 basis points since October 2021 to curb soaring inflation and support the external balance. The rate has been on hold since July 2023.
In the last meeting in July, State bank of Pakistan also decided the interest rate unchanged at 22 percent.
