SBP maintains key interest rate at 22% unchanged

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday announced to maintain the status quo by keeping the key policy rate unchanged at 22% for the seventh time in a row.

The key decision was made at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today.

MPC noted that the macroeconomic stabilisation measures are contributing to considerable improvement in both inflation and external position, amidst moderate economic recovery.

“However, the MPC viewed that the level of inflation is still high. At the same time, global commodity prices appear to have bottomed out with resilient global growth,” a statement issued following the meeting said.

The statement added that the recent geopolitical events have also added uncertainty about their outlook.

Moreover, the upcoming budgetary measures may have implications for the near-term inflation outlook, MPC stated.

On balance, the committee stressed on continuation of the current monetary policy stance to bring inflation down to the target range of 5 to 7% by September 2025.