SBP issues calendar for monetary policy meetings

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday announced a half-yearly schedule for Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings on a rolling basis, with the first review due on January 27, a statement said.

The next monetary policy review will take place on March 10. The following MPC meetings are scheduled for May 5 and June 16.In December, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reduced the policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 per cent, marking the fifth consecutive cut since June. This brings the total rate reductions for 2024 to 900bps.

In a note, Chase Securities said that market projections indicate that inflation would continue to decline, settling between 3.0 per cent and 4.0 per cent in January.“This would result in real interest rates exceeding 10 per cent, making them among the highest in recent years. Such favourable conditions provide room for a potential rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy meeting, although expectations suggest a modest reduction this month,” it said.“Any rate cut exceeding 100bps would likely surprise market participants,” it added.