SBP chief boasts of firm response to challenges

Jameel Ahmad said "it is worth taking a step back and analyse where our economy is standing and where it is headed"

KARACHI:

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad has said that a firm commitment of the government and the SBP to respond to the macroeconomic challenges has resulted in a significant improvement in the economy.

Speaking as a chief guest at the Members Convocation of the ICMA Pakistan, the governor encouraged the graduating accounting professionals to make a mark for themselves. While elaborating on the recent improvement in Pakistan’s economy, Ahmad said “it is worth taking a step back and analyse where our economy is standing and where it is headed”.

A year ago, he shared, Pakistan was facing a very challenging macroeconomic environment. Inflation was as high as 38%, foreign currency reserves were depleting fast, the exchange rate was under a lot of pressure and uncertainty was quite high.

However, “today, inflation is coming down sharply, our reserves have risen to around $8 billion despite heavy debt repayments and will also cross the $9 billion mark, the current account deficit has narrowed quite significantly, and as a result, the rupee is stable.” He stressed that uncertainty had also reduced while Pakistan’s bilateral and multilateral partners were continuing their support and the stock market was touching new highs.

The governor said that the progress was made possible because of a firm commitment of the government and the SBP to effectively respond to the macroeconomic challenges. He pointed out that unpopular, yet necessary measures had to be taken. The SBP raised the policy rate to 22% to reduce pressure on inflation and the current account.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2024.

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