KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is possibly planning to come up with a further increase of about 2 percent in the interest rate at the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to expedite the stalled IMF loan program, a local television channel reported on Monday.
The staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was scheduled to take place on February 9.
Possible rise in interest rate
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would possibly meet tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss the interest rate. According to sources cited by the media outlet, the authorities from Pakistan’s side are ready to raise the interest rate by 2 percent (20 to 22pc) to meet the conditions of the IMF.
They further said that the IMF has demanded to take the interest rate almost near to the inflation rate.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led incumbent government is trying hard while taking desperate measures to get a much-needed and much-awaited 1.1-billion-dollar installment from the IMF halted in 2019, but the IMF is still not looking satisfied with the previous steps taken by the government.
Earlier on March 2, the State Bank of Pakistan raised the monetary policy rate by 300 basis points to take it to 20per cent.
However, taking the interest rate with another 2 percent increase in the last couple of months would likely bring inflation and price hike issues in the country.
