State Bank to Announce Monetary Policy On Monday

The Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will meet on Monday, May 23, 2022, in Karachi to decide on the Monetary Policy. Later on, SBP will issue the Monetary Policy Statement through a press release on the same day. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank will convene on Monday, 23 May 2022 to announce the last scheduled monetary policy for fiscal year (FY) 2021-22. The central bank is expected to increase the policy rate by 100 basis points to 13.25 percent in its upcoming monetary policy statement, as a looming economic crisis threatens progress in the upcoming fiscal year. Analysts forecast that the MPC is not going to consider inflation trajectory alone, but also a few other developments in the economy such as the ones on the external account, which will be a key consideration in the policy decision. The country’s current account deficit narrowed significantly in April 2022 to stand at $623 million, which is only two-thirds of the deficit reported in March 2022, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. The significant reduction in imports by $246 million and an increase in remittances by $315 million had a positive outcome on the situation of the worrisome deficit that had spiraled out of control in the previous month.