the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Thursday that its foreign exchange reserves increased by $167 million,reaching $11.675 billion during the week ending June 6.

The government anticipates that the central bank’s reserves will climb to $14 billion by the close of the current fiscal year.

The country’s total liquid foreign reserves amounted to $16.875 billion, including $5.199 billion held by commercial banks.

Monetary Policy Decision Looms

The state Bank stated on Thursday that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to convene on June 16 to determine interest rates for the subsequent two months.

Most analysts believe that the interest rate will remain unchanged at 11 per cent.

the primary inflation rate experienced a rise to 3.5 per cent year-on-year in May, marking a five-month high. This follows a meaningful decrease in april, when inflation hit a near six-decade low of 0.3pc.

Following the uptick in inflation, the financial sector anticipates the upcoming policy rate decision. The consensus among analysts suggests that the interest rate will likely remain steady at 11 per cent.

Given the increase in CPI-based inflation in May, a reduction in interest rates appears unlikely.