Islamabad
\nThe Pakistan Furniture Council has expressed concern over the possibility of an increase in interest rates by the State Bank of Pakistan, cautioning that such a move could negatively impact industrial growth, particularly the furniture sector.
\nPFC Director Shahbaz Aslam said that while controlling inflation is important, raising the policy rate at this stage could further burden businesses already struggling with rising costs due to global uncertainties and war-related disruptions.
\nAccording to reports, the central bank is considering an interest rate hike ahead of its upcoming monetary policy announcement on April 27. The move is being discussed in light of increasing inflationary pressures triggered by rising global oil and LNG prices, which have surged significantly in recent weeks.
\nShahbaz Aslam noted that higher fuel costs, along with increased freight and insurance charges, have already raised production expenses for manufacturers. \u201cThe furniture industry relies heavily on raw materials, transportation, and energy. Any further increase in financing costs will directly affect production and pricing,\u201d he said.
\nHe added that banks may not face major challenges from a rate hike, as a large portion of their profits comes from investments in government securities. However, such a decision would make borrowing more expensive for the private sector, discouraging investment and expansion.
\n\u201cThe private sector is already finding it difficult to access affordable credit. An increase in interest rates will push businesses further away from bank financing, slowing down economic activity,\u201d he warned.
\nThe PFC director also pointed out that Pakistan is still recovering from the economic impact of the recent regional conflict, which has disrupted trade routes and increased energy costs. While the government has assured that fuel supplies will remain stable, prices are expected to rise, adding to inflationary pressures.
\nHe stressed that the timing of any rate hike is critical. \u201cIf inflation rises moderately, the central bank should adopt a balanced approach rather than aggressively tightening monetary policy,\u201d he suggested.
\nShahbaz Aslam further highlighted that the furniture sector, which has strong potential for exports and job creation, needs supportive policies to grow.
\nHe urged the government to introduce incentives, reduce energy tariffs, and facilitate access to financing for small and medium enterprises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad The Pakistan Furniture Council has expressed concern over the possibility of an increase in interest rates by the State Bank of Pakistan, cautioning that such a move could negatively impact industrial growth, particularly the furniture sector. PFC Director Shahbaz Aslam said that while controlling inflation is important, raising the policy rate at this stage …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":95584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95589,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95565\/revisions\/95589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}