In its monthly economic report, the finance ministry has estimated inflation to rise to around 5.8%-6.8% in November and further to 5.6%-6.5% in December.
“Inflation is expected… [to] Further decline to 5.6% – 6.5% by December 2024,” the finance division said in its monthly economic update and outlook.
The central bank cut interest rates by 250 basis points in early November in an effort to revive the sluggish economy amid a sharp drop in inflation.
According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data, inflation slowed sharply to 7.2 percent in October, a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023, while it was 6.9 percent in September 2024. It was a bit high.
“On the agriculture front, sowing of the wheat crop is underway to achieve the targeted area and yield. Government facilities are well maintained to provide timely critical information to farmers at reasonable prices,” according to the report.
It said the large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector is struggling to recover.
Although year-on-year growth remained negative, month-on-month performance showed signs of resilience, with output increasing gradually in key sectors such as textiles and automobiles.
The Finance Division said it was adamant about increasing its policy support for the sector, adding that external stability would be a springboard for sustained improvement, a cautiously optimistic outlook for a progressive recovery. refers to
The report also highlighted that the current account posted a surplus during the first four months of FY2025, boosting the external sector.
“For the outlook, it is expected that exports, imports, and worker remittances will continue to witness their upward trend – exports of $2.5-3.0 billion, imports of $4.5-4.9 billion, and worker remittances of $2.8-3.3 billion. According to the monthly economic outlook, November 2024 will remain in the range.