Last changed on July 16, 2019, the policy rate was hiked 100 basis points after a strong cycle of monetary tightening contrasting with the global trend toward rate cuts. As the new monetary policy is set to be rolled out on Monday, market experts predict that the policy rate would remain unaffected due to the upside risks to inflation. The Pakistani economy has the seventh-highest policy rate in the world, which is well above the world average of 4.67%. Out of 92 countries that have their own policy rate, only 6 moved towards monetary policy hikes. Keeping this in mind, headline inflation is likely to witness a jump, therefore, pushing the decrease in the policy rate later this year, he added.

Source: Pakistan Today January 25, 2020 15:11 UTC