SBP reduces policy rate to 7 percent.

Karachi -- State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) here Thursday issued its monetary policy statement and reduced the policy rate to 7percent. As per the statement issued by the SBP:

1. At its meeting on 25th June 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to reduce the policy rate by 100 basis points to 7 percent. This decision reflected the MPC's view that the inflation outlook has improved further, while the domestic economic slowdown continues and downside risks to growth have increased. Against this backdrop of receding demand-side inflation risks, the priority of monetary policy has appropriately shifted toward supporting growth and employment during these challenging times.

2. Consistent with its mandate, the MPC re-asserted its commitment to supporting households and businesses through the Covid-19 crisis and minimizing damage to the economy. In this context, the MPC felt that from a risk management point of view, a prompt response to downside risks to growth was called for given the improved inflation outlook. In addition, the MPC noted that with approximately Rs. 3.3 trillion worth of loans due to be repriced by early July 2020, this was an opportune moment to take action from a monetary policy transmission perspective. In this way, the benefits of interest rate reductions would be passed on in a timely manner to households and businesses.

3. The MPC noted that the Covid-19pandemic is spreading in many emerging markets, including Pakistan, and there are fears of a second wave in several other countries. The MPC observed that risks to the global outlook are heavily skewed to the downside and the path of recovery remains uncertain. The MPC also noted that in its update of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) released yesterday, the IMF downgraded its 2020 global growth forecast further to -4.9 percent, 1.9 percentage points lower than in April, and projected a more gradual recovery than previously anticipated.

4. Domestically, the moderation of underlying inflation has continued. Notwithstanding a seasonal uptick in food prices associated with the Eid holiday, headline inflation declined further to 8.2 percent in May on the back of the recent cut in diesel and petrol prices. In addition, month-on-month inflation rates continue to be low. Recent SPI data also suggests continued moderation in overall price pressures in June, despite price increases in some food items, notably wheat. The FY2020/21 budget is also expected to be neutral for...