When is SBP's next monetary policy meeting?

• Next regular meeting of MPC is now scheduled for May 23, 2022.
• Calendar of MPC meetings for 2023 will be shared in November.
• In 2021, SBP increased the number of MPC meetings from six to eight.

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Saturday announced the schedule of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings — in which it reviews and sets the benchmark interest rate — for the rest of the calendar year 2022.

“In light of the emergency MPC meeting held on April 7, 2022 the next regular meeting of the MPC is now scheduled for May 23, 2022,” the statement issued by the central bank read.

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In line with the advanced half-yearly calendar that the SBP has been announcing on a rolling basis since May 2021, the schedule for MPC meetings during the rest of the calendar year 2022 is envisaged as follows:

• Monday, May 23, 2022
• Thursday, July 7, 2022
• Monday, August 22, 2022
• Monday, October 10, 2022
• Friday, November 25, 2022

The central bank said that the advance calendar of MPC meetings for the first half of the calendar year 2023 will be shared at the time of the November 2022 MPC meeting.

It is worth mentioning that in November 2021 the central bank had decided to increase the number of MPC meetings from six to eight times a year.

The central bank had said that the decision had been taken in continuation of efforts to make the process of monetary policy formulation “more predictable and transparent, in line with international best practices.”

“This action will bring the frequency of meetings in line with that incomparable emerging markets. It will also help to enhance the predictability of monetary policy actions,” the central bank had said.

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In its last emergency meeting held on April 7, the SBP had raised its benchmark interest rate by a significant 250 basis points to 12.25% as the country grapples with uncertainty around the outlook for international commodity prices and global financial conditions, which had been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.