ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that inflation has started to gradually reduce through effective use of monetary policy by the State Bank besides smooth availability of supplies of essential commodities in the market.

He stated this while talking to State Bank Governor Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House here on Thursday.

He said better efforts to ensure smooth availability of supplies and improving the overall logistics chain have also helped a lot in bringing down the inflationary trend. He said that the timely and effective use of the monetary policy is critical to controlling inflation in the country.

Mr Aziz said that it was gratifying that the current trends looked positive with inflation gradually reducing. He welcomed the various initiatives taken by the SBP in this regard.

The SBP governor also presented the prime minister a specimen of the new Rs1,000 note and briefed him about its several built-in state-of-the-art security features designed to prevent counterfeit production.

Mr. Aziz said that the well-designed reform agenda had put the banking sector on sound footing, which in turn has led to economic growth, creation of jobs while accelerating investment in the country.

He, however, emphasised the need for the banking sector to cater to the members of the society, particularly low income people, small and medium enterprises, self-employed people, as well as youth and farmers.

He said the sector should increase the volume of the agricultural credit in order to ensure adequate supply of funds to the farmers. This, he said, will lead to increased productivity, yield and incomes while improving the standard of living in rural areas.

The meeting also discussed the financial sector and banking reforms, which have enabled the banking sector to attract investment from all over the world.