Central bank to announce Monetary Policy today
- By Shakoor Nizamani -
- May 17, 2014
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan will announce its bi-monthly monetary policy today, ARY News reported on Saturday.
The board of directors of the central bank will meet today to approve the last monetary policy of the fiscal year 2013-14.
It has been the first monetary policy of the new central bank governor Mehmood Ashraf Wathra. Business committee is demanding for 0.5 point cut in the discount rate. It has to be seen whether the government and State Bank concede to the demand or adopting a more cautious approach on the advice of the IMF.
The analysts, however, of the view that after recent improvement in the economy, the space exists for the cut in interest rates.
The central bank currently pursuing a tough monetary policy and the discount rates lacking incentives for the entrepreneurs to refer to banks for loans in order to start a new business.
The surge in the inflation rate in April could impede in reduction in the interest rate.