WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has credited the prudent monetary and fiscal policies of the Pakistan government, strong capital inflows, robust remittances which surged to $11.75b during July-Feb from overseas Pakistanis and lower oil prices for improvement in its economy.
Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia department, said in a statement, “The authorities have made progress with consolidating macroeconomic stability, strengthening public finances and rebuilding foreign-exchange buffers.”
The SBP slashed its key interest rate in January by a full percentage point, to 8.5 per cent. January’s interest-rate cut came after a half-percentage point easing in November.
Mr Ahmed said that it would also “be critical to protect the most vulnerable from the direct and indirect impacts of economic reforms through continued expansion of targeted social assistance”.
