Pakistan's annual inflation rate drops to 29%

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan's annual consumer price inflation dropped to 29% in June, a nearly 9% month-on-month decline, the national data collection agency said on Monday.

The Consumer Price Index (SPI) shot up to 38% in May, the highest level in decades, due to supply shocks and currency depreciation.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the annual inflation rate stood at 29.4% in June, which is 8.6% low than in May.

In a related development, the Pakistan stock market rose more than 2,000 points on Monday, following the crucial agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week.

In a tweet, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated that the Pakistan Stock Exchange's KSE100 index increased by 2,334 points.

Pakistan and the IMF last week reached a $3 billion stand-by arrangement, a long-awaited development to keep the country's economy afloat.

The deal, which is subject to IMF board approval in July, will help shore up the South Asian country's depleting foreign reserves and contain a mounting balance of payment crisis.

The $3 billion funding, which comes after an eight-month delay, is higher than the remaining $2.5 billion from a $6.5 billion bailout package agreed in 2019, which expired on Friday.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​