Oil prices declined slightly on Friday after settling 1.6% lower in the previous session as the market’s risk premium faded after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the war in Gaza. Brent crude futures were down 7 cents at $65.15 a barrel by 0338 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2 cents to $61.49. Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed a cea
The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10am, the currency was hovering at 280.97, a gain of Re0.23 against the greenback. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 281.20. Internationally, the Japanese yen was set for its steepest weekly drop in a year on Friday, as investors fretted
Gold held steady below $4,000 an ounce on Friday and was set for an eighth straight weekly gain, buoyed by lingering geopolitical and economic tensions and increased expectations of further US rate cuts. Spot gold slipped 0.1% to $3,971.43 per ounce by 0514 GMT, but was up 2.2% for the week. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.3% to $3,985.8. Silver rose 0.9% to $49.55 per ounce, easin
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan has held “very constructive engagement” with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, expressing confidence that the remaining issues are not “showstoppers”. He expressed hope of finalising a staff-level agreement (SLA) early next week during his visit to Washington with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor and finance secretary. Aura
A volatile session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swinging both ways during trading on Wednesday. At 1:35pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 165,459.46, a decrease of 714.28 points or 0.43%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors, cement, commercial banks, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, SSGC, SNGP