{"id":25106,"date":"2025-10-27T12:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=25106"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:04:12","slug":"sbp-holds-policy-rate-at-11-for-fourth-consecutive-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=25106","title":{"rendered":"SBP holds policy rate at 11% for fourth consecutive time"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>The State Bank of Pakistan\u2019s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%, marking the &#8216;fourth&#8217; consecutive time the rate has been held steady.<\/p>\n<p>The decision reflects a cautious approach as the central bank balances support for a fragile economic recovery with internal and external risks, despite calls from the business community to cut the rate to reduce borrowing costs and stimulate growth.<\/p>\n<p>In a meeting conducted today, the cautious stance is aimed at maintaining long-term sustainability, noting that holding the rate at 11% considers multiple economic factors and ensures stability. This reflects the MPC\u2019s careful balancing act between supporting growth and managing external pressures.<\/p>\n<p>Read:\u00a0SBP injects Rs4.25tr via OMOs<\/p>\n<p>According to an Optimus Capital Management (OCM) report, the economy shows signs of moderate recovery such as cash in circulation rose 19% year-on-year, broad money (M2) increased 10%, private sector credit grew 9%, and imports rebounded 15% in the first quarter of FY26, based on Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.<\/p>\n<p>However, overall demand remains subdued. Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) grew 4.4% year-on-year in the first two months of FY26, driven mainly by autos, motorcycles, and textiles, while consumer durables and white goods sales continue to lag.<\/p>\n<p>External pressures are mounting, with 12-month forward external payments reaching a record $32.5 billion, up 8% year-on-year, amid weak foreign direct investment inflows and continued foreign portfolio divestments.<\/p>\n<p>Read More:\u00a0SBP reserves edge up $14m<\/p>\n<p>Inflation dynamics appear mixed. Headline national CPI (NCPI) is expected to remain steady at 5.5% year-on-year in October 2025, despite a 1.2% month-on-month uptick due to higher food, housing, and gold prices. Core inflation is projected to rise slightly to 7.5% from 7.3% in September.<\/p>\n<p>The MPC\u2019s decision reflects the need to balance support for growth with external risks, maintain financial stability, and shield the economy from undue pressure. Keeping the rate unchanged is a prudent step amid ongoing vulnerabilities as the economy recovers.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The State Bank of Pakistan\u2019s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%, marking the &#8216;fourth&#8217; consecutive time the rate has been held steady. The decision reflects a cautious approach as the central bank balances support for a fragile economic recovery with internal and external risks, despite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}