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State Bank of Pakistan announces interest rate cut – SUCH TV

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State Bank of Pakistan announces interest rate cut – SUCH TV



The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced a 50-basis-point cut in the policy rate in its final monetary policy decision of the current year, signaling a cautious shift as inflation shows signs of control.

The State Bank has issued its last monetary policy of the current year, reducing the policy rate by 50 basis points. As a result, the base interest rate has been lowered from 11% to 10.5%, according to the central bank.

This marks the first rate cut after a prolonged period of policy stability. The interest rate has been cut by half a percentage point after seven months.

The decision was taken during a monetary policy meeting after a detailed review of key economic indicators, the State Bank said. Officials cited improved inflation trends as a key reason for adjusting the policy stance.

The move reflects a shift away from continuously maintaining high interest rates.

Policy rate timeline

December 2024: Policy rate set at 13%

January 2025: Reduced to 12%

March 2025: Maintained at 12%

May 2025: Further reduced to 11%

June 2025: Maintained at 11%

July 2025: Maintained at 11%

September 2025: Maintained at 11%

October 2025: Maintained at 11%

December 2025: Reduced to 10.5%

The State Bank of Pakistan has cut the policy rate by 0.5 percentage points after maintaining it at 11% for seven months, reflecting a cautious shift toward monetary easing.

Inflation under control, policy stance adjusted

The State Bank acknowledged that inflation has come under control, prompting a change in its long-standing tight monetary policy. Previously, the central bank had kept the interest rate unchanged at 11% for four consecutive policy decisions.

This easing suggests growing confidence in macroeconomic stability.

With the reduction in the policy rate, bank loans for businesses and industries have become cheaper. Analysts say the cut may provide some relief to the private sector by lowering borrowing costs and supporting economic activity.

However, the reduction remains modest compared to market expectations.

Experts point to IMF influence

Economic experts say the State Bank’s tight monetary policy remains influenced by the IMF program, limiting the pace of rate cuts. Despite the reduction, the policy rate is still around five percentage points higher than the current inflation rate of 5.5%, analysts noted.

This gap indicates continued caution by the central bank.

The business community has repeatedly demanded a cut to single-digit interest rates as inflation declines. However, experts say the State Bank has once again ignored these demands, opting for a gradual approach.

Despite the government’s desire, analysts believe interest rates could not be brought to single digits in 2025, reflecting fiscal and external constraints.



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Australia fuel crisis: Panic buying prompts PM to reassure nation over fuel supply

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Australia fuel crisis: Panic buying prompts PM to reassure nation over fuel supply



Anthony Albanese says nation’s supply remains “secure” amid reports of panic buying and shortages.



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Meta and YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial

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Meta and YouTube found liable in social media addiction trial



A woman has been awarded $6m in a verdict that could have implications for hundreds of other cases in the US.



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Target faces a new boycott over ICE response as retailer presses ahead with turnaround

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Target faces a new boycott over ICE response as retailer presses ahead with turnaround


A major teachers’ union is calling for its members to skip Target when buying back-to-school supplies, the latest twist in a series of boycotts that have targeted the big-box retailer as its turnaround shows signs of life, CNBC has learned.

The AFT, or American Federation of Teachers, passed a resolution Thursday that calls on its 1.8 million members and others to shop at local stores and not at Target, saying the company did not respond adequately to the surge of federal immigration enforcement in the retailer’s hometown of Minneapolis this winter. Federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during the operation.

The labor union, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, plans to urge a similar resolution at AFL-CIO’s convention in Minneapolis this summer and at conventions held by other organizations, including the NAACP and LULAC, AFT President Randi Weingarten said.

Target declined to comment specifically on the AFT’s resolution but said in a statement that it has “a longstanding commitment to strengthening the communities we serve,” including donating 5% of profits since the company’s founding and offering a discount to educators as part of a teacher appreciation program.

Target’s annual sales have declined for the past three years in a row, but the company’s new CEO Michael Fiddelke laid out an ambitious plan earlier this month to refresh its stores, add more enticing merchandise and return to sales growth. The retailer said it expects net sales to rise about 2% this fiscal year compared with the prior year and anticipates sales will grow every quarter.

It is unclear if and how much the AFT’s call for a back-to-school boycott could hurt Target, which is trying to win back customers. Earlier this month, Atlanta area pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant announced the end of a yearlong boycott of the company, called Target Fast, which had started because of the company’s rollback of major diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

At a press conference, Bryant said Target has demonstrated its commitment to the Black community with investments in Black businesses and donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Yet other activists leading a separate boycott, including former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, have said they continue to call for shoppers to steer clear of Target.

The AFT previously supported and participated in the Target boycott over its DEI rollback.

The retailer has attributed some of its sales losses to backlash to its DEI decision, along with other factors including company missteps with merchandise, a weaker store experience and softer discretionary spending.

At an investor meeting in Minneapolis in early March, Fiddelke stressed that it’s “a new chapter for Target.” He said the company is “doing the work to build connection with new guests, deepen relationships with existing guests and earn back trust with guests we’ve disappointed.”

In a separate email to Target employees earlier this month, Fiddelke highlighted how the retailer is putting its strategy into action, including through its move to cut prices on more than 3,000 items and the opening of its 2,000th store. He said Target has made progress with winning back trust, too, noting the end of the Target Fast boycott.

He said Target has had “ongoing conversations with the organizers” of the boycott, who have “acknowledged the meaningful contributions Target has made, and will continue to make, to the Black community.”

In an interview with CNBC, Weingarten said the AFT’s boycott is focused on what she called Target’s lack of response to the surge of aggressive and violent immigration enforcement in its own backyard. Weingarten said the AFT sent a letter to Target and met with Target staff to encourage them to speak up before the union moved to pass the resolution.

“Target was negotiating with our colleagues in the civil rights community for weeks and weeks and weeks,” she said. “They could have very easily dealt with both [concerns about DEI and immigration enforcement] and they chose not to.”

She said Target is “more worried about standing with the Trump administration than the communities that made them a profitable company.”

Fiddelke joined dozens of executives from Minnesota-based corporations in co-signing a letter in late January calling for an “immediate de-escalation” in the state after the fatal shooting of Pretti. However, the letter did not name the shooting victims Pretti or Good or call out the president, his immigration policies or federal agents.

Fiddelke also shared a video message with employees that more directly acknowledged current events, but stopped short of calling for ICE agents to leave the city or for accountability in the two shooting deaths.

Weingarten described the CEOs’ letter as “insulting” and said it “basically blamed both sides.”

She said the union, which includes many teachers, can have the greatest financial impact during the back-to-school shopping season this summer and fall. By passing the resolution now, she said, the AFT can get the word out to members and “give Target enough time to come back to its senses.”



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