ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will hold its monetary policy committee meeting today, Thursday, after the country'sstatistics bureau proclaimed a day before the consumer price index (CPI) had increased 31.5 percent in February on a year-on-year basis which is the highest level in about 50 years.

Pakistan has taken stringent economic measures in recent months by raising fuel and power tariffs to unlock a $7 billion loan facility provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country is facing a tough financial situation amid dwindling forex reserves and a rapidly depreciating national currency.

However, the government’s decision to meet the IMF conditions to secure the release a $1 billion tranche, which has remained stalled since last September, has led to increased inflationary pressure in the economy, making financial experts believe the central bank may further raise the policy rate.

“The forthcoming meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee has been preponed and now it will be held on Thursday, March 02, 2023,” the SBP announced in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

The meeting was originally scheduled to take place on March 16.

Meanwhile, the recent CPI increase of 31.5 percent in February turned out to be the highest since 1974. Statistics indicate that food, beverage and transportation prices have also surged more than 45 percent in the country.

Financial analysts have already warned that inflation is likely to increase further in the coming months as the government raised tax rates in February to generate Rs170 billion to manage revenue shortfall.

The government's Economic Coordination Committee also approved a power surcharge of up to 3.28 per unit during its recent meeting on Wednesday to finance the energy sector's growing liabilities.