Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have increased to $4.3 billion after the inflows of $500 million from China, but the currency market reacted negatively as the dollar appreciated by more than Rs3 in the interbank on Thursday. The SBP reported that its reserves increased by $487m during the week ended on March 3 to $4.301bn. The total liquid foreign reserves held by
Afghan businessmen are importing Pakistan-assembled motorcycles in large numbers daily through the Chaman border amid booming demand for the two-wheelers in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Honda CG-125 bikes are unavailable at showrooms in Karachi as the market is facing price hikes and a shortage of motorcycles across the country, including Quetta and other cities of Balochistan. “Customs departmen
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday blamed a delay in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme on the previous government, whose “failure to meet commitments” created a trust deficit that has continued to bite. However, he said the current government was trying its best to put the economy back on track and complete the IMF programme at any cost. He said the country was “very close” t
Central bank Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Wednesday that staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “close to finalisation” but shied away from giving a date amid his forecast of a reduction in non-debt creating inflows. The head of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) made a policy statement about the external sector outlook, inflation and economic growth during a
Commercial banks have increased their cost of financing to the cash-strapped government by a fresh 1 percentage point (ppt) to a record high of 21% on Wednesday, signalling that the finance market anticipates a further hike in the central bank’s key policy rate next month. The government raised debt worth Rs1.57 trillion, through auctioning three 12-month T-bills to commercial banks against its