The Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan is scheduled to meet today, Thursday, to announce its monetary policy. Sources familiar with the situation anticipate an increase in the key policy rate.
In response to inflationary pressure, financial experts and brokerage firms predicted a rate increase in the key policy rate of up to 200 basis points, with the possibility that 12-month real interest rates (RIR) would stay in negative territory for an extended period of time.
The current interest rate in Pakistan is 22 percent, the highest ever for a cash-strapped nation, and it may go up to 23 percent in the future.
The Monetary Policy Committee will meet on Tuesday, the central bank recently said, adding that the rate will be revealed in a press release.
The State Bank rejected the report of the special meeting last month and announced that the discussions would proceed as usual in September.