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Central bank keeps policy rate unchanged at 11.5pc

The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday kept the interest rate unchanged at 11.5 per cent.

The decision was announced by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed during a press conference.

At the outset of the press conference, the governor said, “MPC has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11.5pc”.

“There were several reasons for this, but I would like to explain some background: every time we hold committee meetings in January and July, we also issue projections for the next six months and what would be the level of economic growth, inflation outlook and situation of the external account; I will share that assessment as well.”

The governor explained that in the first half of the previous year, inflation was declining; however, “the fallout from the Middle East crisis impacted our domestic situation”.

“From July to February, our average inflation was 5.5pc,” which he said was within the government’s target range of 5-7pc.

Analysts had expected the central bank to keep the rate unchanged, saying it would be difficult to maintain macroeconomic stability with sluggish growth.

Surveys conducted by brokerage houses show that more than 90pc of stakeholders expected the SBP to leave the policy rate unchanged, while only a small number foresaw a modest increase.

The SBP cut its policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5pc in December 2025 before raising it by 100 basis points to 11.5pc in April this year. It has since kept the rate unchanged despite persistent demands from the business community for a substantial reduction to support economic activity.

More to follow



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