Karachi: Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will meet on Monday, March 18, 2024 to decide about monetary policy, central bank announced. SBP said it will issue Monetary Policy Statement through press release on same day. Brokerage house sees “Strong possibility” that SBP may cut key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps).

Arif Habib Limited in its report released earlier this week, said there is “Strong possibility that SBP may contemplate kickstarting interest rate reversal cycle by implementing 100bps cut in upcoming policy”. Key policy rate already stands at record high of 22 percent.

Pakistan’s headline inflation clocked in at 23.1 percent on year-on-year basis in February, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, much lower than reading in January when it stood at 28.3 percent.

However, in its article on Friday, BR Research said that SBP “Should move with extra caution and keep real rates positive on current inflation”, arguing that to keep delicate balance, slow and gradual easing is order of day. “Expect around 200 bps cut in April and SBP must maintain policy rate on Monday,” it added.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 16 2024

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.