According to figures released on Tuesday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s overall inflation rate for September 2024 was 6.9% year over year. This is less than the reading for August 2024, which was 9.6%.
The PBS statistics indicated that the CPI measurement is at its lowest point since January 2021.
According to a letter from Mohammed Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, “SBP has achieved achieving inflation below 7% one year prior to target due to aggressive quantitative tightening.”
The CPI fell to 0.5% in September 2024 on a month-over-month basis after rising by 0.4% the month before.
The number given is less than anticipated by the authorities. In the monthly economic forecast published on Friday, the finance ministry had said that it anticipates inflation to slow down even further during the following two months (September and October) and to maybe remain around 8 to 9%.
“In September and October 2024, inflation is projected to stay within the range of 8% to 9%, as per Monthly Economic Update and Outlook.”
The inflation rate is based on data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which released its most aggressive rate cut since April 2020 during its most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on September 12.
The SBP cut the key policy rate by 200 basis points to 17.5% in response to slowing inflation and falling global oil prices.
Pakistan has had a serious and ongoing economic problem from inflation, especially in recent years.
In May of the previous year, the CPI inflation rate touched a record high of 38%. But from that point on, it has been declining.
