Karachi February 28 2023: The forthcoming meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee has been preponed and now it will be held on Thursday, March 02, 2023, according to State Bank of Pakistan.
This will help to reduce market uncertainty about rate hike just before State Bank of Pakistan targeting to raise an amount of PKR 1.8 trillion on 8th March 2023 against maturity of PKR 1.78 trillion.
On February 22 2023, SBP raised PKR 257.7 billion through the auction of market treasury bills at all time high rates and 295 basis points above the policy rate of 17 percent, according to State Bank of Pakistan.
The cut-off yield for 3 Months, 6 Months, and 12 Months paper settled at 19.95 percent, 19.9000 percent, and 19.7900 percent, respectively. Cut-off yields increased by 195, 206, and 184 basis points for 3 Month, 6 Month, and 12 Month T-Bills, respectively.
On the following day, Pakistan lending benchmark, 6-Month KIBOR, reaches an all-time high of 19.97 percent on anticipation of rate hike.
State Bank of Pakistan will hike rates by 200 bps to 19 percent at its March meeting, according to report published by Bloomberg.
According to the report, the State Bank of Pakistan looks set to raise rates further after a 100-basis-point hike — to 17 percent — at its January meeting. The outlook for inflation and falling FX reserves remains troublesome. For starters, authorities’ recent steps — letting the rupee float and hiking fuel prices and electricity tariffs — to meet the terms of IMF aid will stoke price pressures. More taxes could come — if the IMF insists — adding to inflation.
