29 October 2004	Friday	14 Ramazan 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will revisit the mark-up rates on the basis of the inflation figures for the month of October, said SBP governor Dr. Ishrat Hussain.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, the central bank chief said the value of rupee in future is expected to improve owing to arrival of dollars through the launch of Islamic bonds, World Bank and ADB funds inflows and no large external payments. He, however, declined to speculate on the position of the rupee in future.

He said the recent pressure on rupee was mainly due to timing factor because the outflow was higher than inflow owing to international oil prices, absence of Saudi oil facility and some prepayments.

In the last two quarters the external payments were over $7 billion, and the prepayment of debt put heavy pressure on the rupee, he said.

When market forces act normally the rates are determined automatically, he said. The investment in real estate sector of the Middle East by Pakistanis could not be stopped anyway, the State Bank governor said.

He said the change in interest rates would be made according to the trend in inflation. He said that recent hike in interest rates is due to the increase in inflation in September, which the government is fighting. He said the Bank is observing the rate of inflation every week carefully.

Dr Ishrat said that he would not involve in speculation on future rate of inflation. He said that there are chances that the pressure on prices would reduce in near future.

Inflation has reached over nine per cent during the recent months, while the food inflation was near 13 per cent.