KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Monday that it will keep the policy rate unchanged at 15 per cent.
The press release issued by the SBP stated that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to maintain the policy rate at 15 percent. The MPC noted the continued deceleration in economic activity as well as the decline in headline inflation and the current account deficit since the last meeting, the press release added.
The recent floods have altered the macroeconomic outlook and a fuller assessment of their impact is underway, the MPC observed. Based on currently available information, the MPC was of the view that the existing monetary policy stance strikes an appropriate balance between managing inflation and maintaining growth in the wake of the floods. On the one hand, inflation could be higher and more persistent due to the supply shock to food prices, and it is important to ensure that this additional impetus does not spillover into broader prices in the economy, it stated.
