President Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (RCCI) Usman Shaukat has supported the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan to maintain the policy rate at 11.5 percent.In a statement issued here today, he said the decision is appropriate in the present circumstances. Global inflationary pressures arising from the conflict in the Middle East involving Iran have pushed up international energy and commodity prices, and as a net importer of fuel Pakistan remains directly exposed to this shock.
In such an environment, a steady hand on monetary policy protects the stability that has been achieved with considerable effort over the past two years.He added, however, that stability cannot be an end in itself. “The business community has absorbed a long period of high borrowing costs. Going forward the Committee will have to tread carefully, containing inflation on one side while providing impetus to investment on the other. As external pressures ease, a gradual reduction in the policy rate will be essential to revive industrial expansion, unlock credit for SMEs and support our export growth.”
