ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cut on Friday its key policy rate by 150 basis points to 10.5 percent, the bank Governor, Yaseen Anwar, said.
The (SBP) last changed rates when it made a 150 basis point cut on Oct. 8, 2011, bringing the benchmark rate to 12 percent.
Increased remittances from overseas Pakistani workers and reimbursements from the United States for Pakistan's assistance in the war against militancy had helped the country's foreign exchange reserves, the governor said.
"However, concerted efforts to bridge the gap between revenues and expenditures through structural reforms are necessary to bring monetary stability and economic growth on a sustainable basis," Anwar said. (Reuters)