SBP decides to maintain bench mark interest rate at 11.5%

KARACHI
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced monetary policy.
According to press release central bank has decided to maintain interest rate. According to decision SBP has maintained bench mark interest rate at 11.5 percent.
Governor SBP announced new monetary policy after reviewing economic statistics. The inflation rose due to hike in prices of oil.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met for the fourth time this year. The decision was in line with market expectations.
The committee noted that global oil prices have eased following the recent positive geopolitical developments, yet they remain elevated as compared to pre-conflict levels. Nonetheless, as anticipated in the last MPC meeting, the impact of the conflict is now reflecting in recent economic indicators,” read the statement.
As per the MPC, headline inflation rose to double digits in April and May, while core inflation also edged up.
“Moreover, economic activity is showing some signs of moderation, reflecting the impact of elevated prices, austerity measures and prevalent economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, the external account pressures remain moderate,” it said.
The MPC observed that the macroeconomic outlook is broadly unchanged from its previous meeting.
“In this context, the MPC assessed that the current monetary policy stance remains appropriate to guide inflation towards the target range of 5 –7% over the medium term,” it said.
The MPC noted the following key developments since its last meeting.
“First, real GDP growth for FY26 is provisionally estimated at 3.7% by the PBS.
“Second, confidence of both consumers and businesses recovered marginally in the latest sentiment surveys, while their inflation expectations eased somewhat.
“Third, the successful completion of IMF reviews for EFF and RSF, coupled with ongoing purchases, increased SBP’s FX reserves to $17.2 billion as of June 5, 2026.
“Fourth, the government has estimated primary balance surplus for FY26 at 2.5% of GDP and is targeting a surplus of 2.0% of GDP for FY27.
“Lastly, the Middle East conflict has begun to impact macroeconomic conditions in many economies, and a rising number of central banks have started to raise their policy rates,” it noted.
The MPC noted that proactive macroeconomic management – underpinned by forward-looking monetary policy and consistent fiscal consolidation – has helped sustain ongoing macroeconomic stability despite the prolonged Middle East conflict.
Today’s monetary policy review was the last review of the financial year 2025-26.
Business, financial and investment sectors were keeping a watchful eye on it.
Following the latest decision of committee policy rate will be kept maintained at 11.5 percent for the next one and half month. The future decisions will be made keeping in view inflation, global oil prices and overall economic situation.