KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday announced decreasing its policy (interest) rate by 100 basis points (1pc) to 19.5pc. SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad announced the decision of the central bank in a press conference in Karachi.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) determined the policy rate considering the inflationary pressure and other economic indicators. The MPC statement said, “Committee observed that the June 2024 inflation was slightly better than anticipated. The Committee also assessed that the inflationary impact of the FY25 budgetary measures was broadly in line with earlier expectations”.

Due to these reasons, the committee “viewed that there was room to further reduce the policy rate in a calibrated manner to support economic activity while keeping inflationary pressures in check”.