Pakistan inflation scales to record 35.37% as IMF reforms spur gains

Pakistan’s inflation quickened by a record on higher taxes and energy prices, suggesting that further interest rate increases may be needed.

Consumer prices rose 35.37 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the statistics department Saturday. That compares with a median estimate for a 34.8 percent gain in a Bloomberg survey and a 31.55 percent increase in February.

The latest print may bolster the case for State Bank of Pakistan to raise the target rate at a review scheduled April 4, with all but one of 14 economists surveyed so far expecting a hike.

The central bank last month delivered a blowout 300-basis-point increase to 20 percent to rein in skyrocketing prices that were stoked by a weaker currency, as well as tax and energy price hikes aimed at clinching an International Monetary Fund bailout that’s still in limbo.