Imports of the petroleum group dipped 11.66 per cent year-on-year in the July-March period of FY23 owing to the sharp reduction in consumption as a result of the slowing down of the economy amid unprecedented inflation. The highest-ever increase in prices in the country’s history also contributed to lower consumption of petroleum products. At the same time, not only did the local production dec
Commerce Ministry has launched the first-ever National Compliance Centre (NCC) aimed to ensure international compliance requirements and facilitate the manufacturers and exporters. The NCC would have a federal-level office with provincial secretariats to ensure coordination at the national level. It will have an organisational structure consisting of eight compliance clusters, and additional c
For the second month in a row, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) jumped month-on-month by 62 per cent to $163.4 million in March against a net outflow of $30.4m in the same month last year, reported the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday. This could be surprising for many that FDI has been increasing despite persistent political and economic crises. The FDI inflows in March were the sec
The country’s current account turned to a surplus of $654 million in March — a big monthly figure and the first surplus in over two years — against a deficit of $36m in February. This helped contract the ongoing fiscal year’s current account deficit (CAD) by a massive 74 per cent year-on-year to just $3.37bn in July-March. This decline in the current account deficit was the outcome of $11.25
In an apparent deviation from the law, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is reported to have extended Rs239 billion credit to the PMLN-led coalition government in January-February to meet ballooning debt servicing requirements of the domestic commercial banks. Under the State Bank of Pakistan Act amended in 2022 on the dictation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), government borrowing from