Category: Business

KARACHI: Industry leaders were taken by surprise when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced a sharp cut of two percentage points in the key policy rate after an emergency meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday. The rate cut has turned the clock back to the fall of 2018, when the newly […]

ISLAMABAD: In a major support to shore up the declining reserves following the outflow of hot money, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday night approved the disbursement of $1.386 billion to Pakistan under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 shock. “The Executive Board of the IMF approved […]

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the G-20 move to suspend debt servicing for 76 developing countries, saying it would have substantial impact on economies reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic. “The prime minister appreciated debt relief measures by G-20 countries, IMF (International Monetary Fund) and World Bank for developing countries, including Pakistan,” the PM Office said […]

Trading was halted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday after the benchmark KSE-100 index soared almost 1,500 points — a rise of 5 per cent — a day after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) slashed the country’s policy rate by 200 points in a surprise move. The market opened at 10:15am, with […]

The rupee made a significant recovery on Friday as the dollar fell by Rs3.3 to close at Rs163.58 in the interbank market. In percentage terms, this represented a 1.9 per cent decline in the greenback compared to today’s opening rate of Rs166.88. The currency market witnessed quite a bit of volatility as the dollar hit […]

KARACHI: Wholesalers have further increased pulses’ rates despite the government’s decision of bringing down advance tax on imports to zero per cent from 2pc and falling transportation cost on account of Rs20 per litre cut in diesel rate. In another development, flour millers reduced the rates of various flour varieties by Rs5 per kg owing […]

ISLAMABAD: The Independent Power Producers Advisory Council (IPPAC) has said neither the IPPAC nor any Independent Power Producer (IPP) was consulted or approached in preparing the inquiry committee’s report over alleged losses in the power sector. The allegations being levelled against the IPPs about un­fair agreements and misappropriation in tariff and fuel con­­sumption rates are […]

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan faces sharp economic recession along with a skyrocketing fiscal deficit as fallout from the prevailing global coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said on Sunday. In addition, the country’s external position will come under serious stress as remittances can see a significant fall while portfolio outflows continue and the “non-traditional debt” from countries like […]

BAKU: The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other oil producing nations agreed on Sunday to cut output by a record amount, representing around 10 percent of global supply, to support oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic. The group, known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for […]

Oil prices rose on Monday after major producers finally agreed their biggest-ever output cut, but gains were capped amid concern that it won’t be enough to head off oversupply with the coronavirus pandemic hammering demand. After four days of wrangling, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other producers, a group known […]