Karachi October 28 2023: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of SBP will meet on Monday, October 30, 2023 at SBP Karachi to decide about the Monetary Policy.
Later on, SBP will issue the Monetary Policy Statement through a press release on the same day.
According to a survey conducted by CFA Society Pakistan, most financial market participants anticipate that the central bank will maintain the key interest rate at its current level. Interestingly, this marks the first time that 24 percent of participants are predicting a rate reduction, while only 2 percent anticipate a substantial 100 basis point rate hike.
The survey further reveals that over one-third of respondents foresee a rate cut by the central bank within the next six months. Additionally, a majority of participants expect the interest rate to fall within the range of 18 to 22 percent by the end of the fiscal year.
In previus meeting, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to maintain the policy rate at 22 percent as the decision takes into account the latest inflation outturn reflecting the continuing declining trend in inflation from its peak of 38 percent in May to 27.4 percent in August 2023. Even though global oil prices have risen recently and are being passed on to consumers through adjustment in administered energy prices, inflation is projected to remain on the downward trajectory, especially from the second half of this year. As such, real interest rates continue to remain in positive territory on a forward-looking basis. Moreover, the expected ease in supply constraints owing to better agriculture output and the recent administrative measures against speculative activity in the FX and commodity markets would also support the inflation outlook.
