Category: Business

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports jumped nearly 17 per cent year-on-year in February, reported the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. Trade analysts and commerce ministry believe the growth is due to diversion of orders from China owing to the spread of coronavirus in the country. The proceeds from textile and clothing exports reached […]

ISLAMABAD: Moody’s Investor Service on Tuesday lowered its forecast for Pakistan growth rate at 2.5 per cent for the current fiscal year owing to Covid-19 even though it said risks for the entire Asia-Pacific (APAC) region were generally on the downside. In December 2019, the New York-based rating agency had projected Pakistan’s growth rate at […]

ISLAMABAD: Due to the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, the government on Tuesday decided to revise all international and local agreements in the energy sector, including those related to Independent Power Projects (IPPs) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), to provide relief to the common man. The decision was taken in a […]

From empty hotels to shuttered beauty salons, oil-dependent Saudi Arabia is bracing for a coronavirus-led economic slump on top of possible austerity measures as crude prices go into free fall. Huge losses are expected after the Arab world’s biggest economy shut down cinemas, malls and restaurants, halted flights, suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage and locked […]

Trading was halted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange less than an hour into the morning session on Wednesday after the benchmark KSE-100 index tanked over 5 per cent as investors reacted with disappointment to the lower-than-expected cut in the policy rate announced by the central bank yesterday. Right from the outset, shares began slipping into […]

ISLAMABAD: In a major policy shift, the government has formally directed the board of directors and managing directors of the two gas utilities to give up major revenue streams to provide relief to consumers through lower tariff. In a letter, the petroleum division has asked the chairpersons and managing directors of the Sui Northern Gas […]

Oil prices extended the gloom on Monday after a Saudi-Russian price war and an equities meltdown sparked by the coronavirus pandemic saw their biggest weekly losses in more than a decade. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) briefly fell below $30 a barrel, or 5.5 per cent, in morning Asian trade before regaining its footing. It […]

Faced with a growing economic shutdown from the coronavirus pandemic, that could cause the US economy to contract, the US Federal Reserve on Sunday announced drastic emergency measures to shore up confidence and keep the financial sector running, including slashing the key interest rate to virtually zero. The Fed made its second emergency rate cut […]

The Pakistan Stock Exchange was a sea of red once again on Monday with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing down 2,416 points, or 6.7 per cent, at 33,644 – back to levels last seen about four months ago (Oct 24, 2019). With today’s close, the benchmark index has recorded a decline of 17.4pc in the […]

Only a day after gaining some lost ground, the rupee on Monday resumed its slide against the United States dollar as it fell by Rs1.90 to reach Rs158.6 in the interbank market. However, in the open market, the local currency recovered by Rs2 to stand at Rs156.5, as opposed to Friday’s closing of Rs158.5. Since […]