SBP to announce policy rate on September 12

September 11, 2024 (MLN): The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of SBP will meet on Thursday, September 12, 2024, to decide about the Monetary Policy, according to the press release issued by the Central Bank.

Later on, SBP will issue the Monetary Policy Statement through a press release on the same day.

The Central Bank is expected to cut its policy rate by 150 basis points (bps) as a significant slowdown in inflation gives policymakers enough room to continue monetary easing in a bid to spur growth.

That would be the third consecutive rate cut since June 2024.

Pakistan's annual inflation rate fell to 9.6% in August from 11.1% last month, expanding the real interest rate to 9.9%, which is important to continue guiding inflation to the central bank's medium-term target.

To gauge market sentiment, Mettis Global News conducted a survey regarding the upcoming central bank’s monetary policy decision.

Majority (77.8%) of analysts expect the central bank to slash rates by 150bps to 18%.

Moreover, a majority of analysts expect a cumulative rate cut of 350bps or higher over the three meetings, taking the policy rate to 16% or lower by the end of December 2024.

To recall, in the last MPC meeting held on July 29, the committee slashed interest rates by 100bps to 19.5%.

The reduction was the second in a row, bringing the total decrease since June 2024 to 250bps.

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