KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr. Reza Baqir will announce the monetary policy for next two months on Monday, the central bank said in a press release.

The SBP has kept the policy rate unchanged after increasing it by 100 basis points in July 2019 to 13.25 per cent. The bank had highlighted exchange rate imbalances and inflationary pressures as key drivers behind rate hike.

But since the last announcement, the currency markets have exchange rate has stabilised. In addition, the foreign exchange reserves of the country have also risen to over $18 billion.

However, inflation rate is still high at 12.6pc.

Financial circle expects the SBP monetary policy committee to maintain status quo in the announcement as the high rates have attracted $2.2 billion foreign investment in the government’s debt papers.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2020