“There is uncertainty regarding economic outlook; a major reason is the … global commodity prices,” said an SBP report titled “The State of Pakistan’s Economy – First Quarterly (Jul-Sept) Report 2021-22”. However, the global commodity prices continued to inflate for different reasons including the current Russia-Ukraine war. Furthermore, overall credit conditions are expected to tighten in the wake of the policy rate hike. Meanwhile, downside risks to the fiscal outlook include a slowdown in economic activity, which would impact tax revenues, the report said. On the other hand, downside risks to the current account gap mainly relate to a sharp drop in global commodity prices and freight costs, it said.

Source: The Express Tribune March 19, 2022 05:06 UTC