Pakistan finance minister eyes cut to key policy rate from 11%

ISLAMABAD :Pakistan's finance minister said on Wednesday that there was more room for the central bank to cut the country's key policy rate down from 11 per cent.

"We are hopeful of progress in terms of the policy rate going south," Mohammed Aurangzeb said at an event in Islamabad.

The next policy rate announcement is due on September 15, according to the State Bank of Pakistan's calendar.

The central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 11 per cent on July 30, going against analyst expectations.

In a Reuters poll ahead of the policy rate announcement, all 15 analysts said they expected the bank to ease, with nine forecasting a 50 basis-point cut, four predicting a deeper 100 basis-point reduction and two projecting a smaller 25 basis-point cut.

The bank, however, held the rate steady, saying the inflation outlook had deteriorated due to rising energy prices.