SBP calls monetary meeting to reduce market uncertainty on Nov 19

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has called the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on November 19, reported 24NewsHD TV on Tuesday.

Initially, this meeting was scheduled for November 26 but now it has been called one week early to reduce uncertainty in the monetary market.

The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to bring forward its upcoming meeting to Nov 19th, from the previously announced date of Nov 26th, in order to help reduce uncertainty about monetary settings prevailing in the market.https://t.co/nn8ftmNJhZ

— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) November 16, 2021

On the other hand, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Murtaza Syed on Tuesday said that depreciation of the rupee does not have an immediate effect on inflation, it is expected to rise in 2 to 6 months.

During the meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, Murtaza answered different questions to the parliamentarians and said that the market is responsible for setting the dollar value, SBP does not have to interfere in this regard.

Deputy Governor said that steps were being taken to curb imports, adding that further steps would have to be taken if the trade and current account deficit continued to rise. 

On the other side, committee member Qaiser Sheikh said that government measures will not increase exports nor will reduce imports.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, Ahsan Iqbal said that it seems that the effects of the devaluation of the rupee are yet to come.

Moreover, PML-N’s Ayesha Ghous Pasha said that do not present an artificial picture of the economy, the facts should be told. It is pertinent to mention the committee has also summoned the Governor SBP for a clear briefing in the next meeting. 

Reporters: Ashraf Khan, Waqas Azeem