The decision is the last under a caretaker government before general elections due next week and comes as Pakistan undertakes reforms linked to a $3 billion Standby Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "SBP opted for a wait and see approach during this policy (meeting) and refrained from abruptly starting a monetary easing cycle," said Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited. "Economic indicators are gradually improving and inflation is expected to decline significantly from March 2024 onwards, where we believe that (the) SBP is expected to start a monetary easing cycle," he said. The country's external accounts and foreign exchange reserves have improved, the current account deficit is expected to shrink, the central bank's governor Jameel Ahmad said.

Source: bd News24 January 30, 2024 03:21 UTC