The State Bank of Pakistan has announced the monetary policy for the next two months in which it has been decided to keep the policy rate at 22 percent.

The decision to keep the policy rate at 22 percent was made at the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of State Bank in Karachi today.

The committee noted that headline inflation rose in September this year as expected. However, the inflation is projected to decline from now on and maintain a downward trajectory, especially in the second half of the fiscal year.

The MPC also noted that the initial estimates for Kharif crops are encouraging and will have positive effects on other key sectors of the economy.

The committee also said that the current account deficit narrowed considerably in August and September this year which helped to stabilize the State Bank’s foreign exchange reserves position in the last two months.