The government has announced Rs 1.95 per unit increase in the power tariff, placing another burden on the already inflation stricken public. Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub announced the price hike in a press conference on Thursday, saying that the PML-N government had left landmines for the coming government. He said that PTI government will have to recover the...
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is all geared up to tackle the "mother of all external shocks" as the economy falters amid the coronavirus crisis, its governor, Dr Reza Baqir, said in an interview with Bloomberg. "The policy response during [COVID-19] has been prudent,” Baqir told the publication, referring to three consecutive rate cuts that brought down the interest...
State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed it had received US$1.39 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Rapid Financing Instrument to address the economic impact of the coronavirus. On April 17, the IMF had approved the disbursement of the amount. https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1252923273127645185 "While uncertainty remains high, the near-term economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to be significant, giving...
US crude prices bounced back into positive territory on Tuesday, a day after crashing below $0.00 for the first time owing to crippled demand and a storage glut, while the commodity rout sent Asian equities sharply lower. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was changing hands at $1.10 a barrel after diving to an unprecedented low of -$37.63 in New...
The US dollar fell on Friday by Rs3.31 against the rupee in the interbank market. The interbank dollar rates closed at Rs163.57 for the day, declining 1.98% as the rupee strengthened. On April 16, the interbank market closing rate was reported at Rs166.88 against the US dollar. https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1251091883390054410 The gain in rupee today came on the heels of the International...
BEIJING: Chinese economy suffered huge losses last quarter and contracted for the first time in decades due to the drastic measures taken to contain the coronavirus, official data showed Friday. Gross domestic product shrank 6.8% in the January-March quarter from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It was the...
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday announced that it had slashed the interest rate by 200 basis points, bringing it down to 9% from 11%. The decision was announced in a Monetary Policy Statement issued by the central bank in which it stated that the decision had been taken as the "global and domestic outlook has further...
Asia’s economic growth this year will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years, as the coronavirus crisis takes an “unprecedented” toll on the region’s service sector and major export destinations, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. Policymakers must offer targeted support to households and firms hardest-hit by travel bans, social distancing policies and other measures...
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has painted a bleak picture of the economy inflicted with the novel coronavirus-led slowdown despite that stabilisation measures started to yield positive results. According to the central bank, the global and domestic spread of COVID-19 brought an exceptional set of challenges for the country. “The spillovers from the global economy and the infection-containment...
South Asia is on course for its worst economic performance in 40 years, with countries likely to record their worst growth performance due to the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said on Sunday. According to a report by the World Bank, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Maldives are expected to fall into recession. "Pakistan, which has already experienced low growth rates in recent...
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved deferral of monthly and quarterly fuel adjustments in the electricity bills of consumers till June 2020. The ECC meeting in Islamabad was presided by adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenuw Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. The committee also approved four technical supplementary grants for the current financial year. The technical supplementary...
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign exchanges reserves plunged more than 12% or $1.6 billion over just three weeks in March as the coronavirus outbreak roiled global financial markets, the latest data from the central bank showed. As on March 27, forex reserves totalled $11.2 billion, down from $12.8 billion as on March 6. Pakistan last year had entered into a programme with...
Nausheen Javed Amjad was on Monday appointed as the chairperson of the Federal Board of Revenue. In the absence of the former FBR chief Shabbar Zaidi, the officer had taken charge as acting chair of the revenue body back in February. According to sources, Zaidi had gone on an indefinite leave due to health issues. Zaidi in February rejected speculation...
International Monetary Fund's (IMF) managing director has said the coronavirus pandemic which has brought the global economy to a standstill and plunged the world into a recession as “way worse” than the global financial crisis a decade ago. The IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, speaking at a rare joint news conference with the leader of the World Health Organisation (WHO),...
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the government has decided to give the status of industry to construction sector. Announcing special package for construction industry on Friday, he said that the sector plays an important part in development of a country. The prime minister said that those investing in the construction sector will not be asked about their source...
TOKYO/NEW YORK: Oil prices retreated on Friday after massive gains, while stocks in Asia edged down, as doubts grew over an oil price deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that US President Donald Trump said he had brokered. With the coronavirus pandemic raising the risk of a prolonged global downturn, investors continued to seek the safety of the US dollar...
Asian equities fell for a second session on Thursday, after a dire warning about the US coronavirus death toll had investors looking to the safety of dollars and bonds and bracing for more bad news from US jobless figures. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.2%. Japan's Nikkei extended Wednesday's heavy drop with a 1.5% fall, and...
