| Pakistan's GDP growth rate may come down to 2.5% |
| Date: 2010/10/7 Click: 1562 |
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State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) forecast that economic growth of Pakistan could come down to 2.5 percent from an earlier target of 4.5 percent for the financial year 2010-11, local newspaper reported Thursday.
The said forecast was made at the SBP's central board of directors meeting held on Wednesday, which also announced hike in policy rates by 50 basis points to 13.5 percent, according to Daily Times.
Moreover, the central bank also forecast deceleration in aggregate private consumption countrywide as a result of the government's most likely measures to meet the urgent needs of the flood victims and their rehabilitation, leading to a sharper deterioration of the fiscal accounts.
This could make the task of reviving economic growth and bringing inflation down to single digit level much more difficult, according to local analysts.
The report said that Pakistan's dependence on foreign borrowings has also increased due to continuous decline in domestic national savings and private foreign investments in the country.
Analysts said that these reflect substantial risks to economic stability in the near future and puts a considerable pressure on the debt-ridden country in the medium term.
During the past two months of natural calamity, over 20 million Pakistani people were displaced, millions of homes had been destroyed by the worst floods Pakistan has experienced. |
