Devil Soul
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 22,931
- Reaction score
- 45
- Country
- Location
Pakistan inflation rate falls to 2.11 per cent in April on year
REUTERS —
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's annual inflation rate fell to 2.11 per cent in April from 2.49 per cent in March, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
On a month-on-month basis, prices rose 1.32 per cent in April over March.
The average annual inflation rate for July through to April was 4.81 per cent.
“If the price of oil doesn't increase again and there are no other outliers or unexpected incidents, we expect that inflation will stay in this range,” said the bureau's chief statistician, Asif Bajwa.
Read: Inflation at lowest since Sept 2003
Inflation has been on an 11-year low owing to various factors including decline in global oil prices and its impact on Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan cutting discount rate by 200 basis points since October 2014.
Falling oil prices decrease the marginal cost of production for firms which in return encourages firms to increase their output, capital and hire more labour.
The developments have resulted in a significant upsurge in the country's business and investor's confidence.
The International Monetary Fund had also predicted that the Average inflation will ease to below 8pc in fiscal year 2014-15 and fall further thereafter, as inflation expectations will be anchored by tight monetary policy and sustainable fiscal policy.
Jeffrey Franks, the IMF’s outgoing mission chief for Pakistan, had said last month: “The economy grew about 4 per cent last year, and we’re expecting a similar figure this year. That’s a good performance considering the country was carrying out major fiscal consolidation.”
“But it’s not enough to substantially improve income levels because of the high population growth rate,” he added.
REUTERS —
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's annual inflation rate fell to 2.11 per cent in April from 2.49 per cent in March, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
On a month-on-month basis, prices rose 1.32 per cent in April over March.
The average annual inflation rate for July through to April was 4.81 per cent.
“If the price of oil doesn't increase again and there are no other outliers or unexpected incidents, we expect that inflation will stay in this range,” said the bureau's chief statistician, Asif Bajwa.
Read: Inflation at lowest since Sept 2003
Inflation has been on an 11-year low owing to various factors including decline in global oil prices and its impact on Pakistan and the State Bank of Pakistan cutting discount rate by 200 basis points since October 2014.
Falling oil prices decrease the marginal cost of production for firms which in return encourages firms to increase their output, capital and hire more labour.
The developments have resulted in a significant upsurge in the country's business and investor's confidence.
The International Monetary Fund had also predicted that the Average inflation will ease to below 8pc in fiscal year 2014-15 and fall further thereafter, as inflation expectations will be anchored by tight monetary policy and sustainable fiscal policy.
Jeffrey Franks, the IMF’s outgoing mission chief for Pakistan, had said last month: “The economy grew about 4 per cent last year, and we’re expecting a similar figure this year. That’s a good performance considering the country was carrying out major fiscal consolidation.”
“But it’s not enough to substantially improve income levels because of the high population growth rate,” he added.
