The central government debt jumped by Rs4 trillion, or around 7.7 per cent, in January to reach close to Rs55tr, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed on Tuesday. The figure was Rs42.39tr in January 2022, which means it has increased by 30pc over the past year. Meanwhile, domestic debt rose to Rs34.3tr by end-January, 3.4pc higher than it was a month ago and around 25pc higher than th
The country’s oil industry is reportedly in serious trouble in arranging crude oil and petroleum products owing to foreign exchange constraints and prevailing product pricing, particularly following the recent currency depreciation and increase in the central bank’s policy rate. Reporting these challenges to the government, the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) – an association of more than
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rose on Monday, with analysts attributing it to expectations of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week as well as the rupee’s recovery. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,434.33 points, up 97.33 points or 0.24 per cent. It reached an intraday high of 460.71 points or 1.11 points around 1:15pm. Intermarket Securities’ Head
On the insistence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal government and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) did something last week that will deepen the ongoing political and administrative chaos, cripple the economy and multiply the miseries of 230 million Pakistanis. But they had to. Beggars cannot be choosers. The federal government slapped a permanent debt servicing surcharge on
The rupee continued to recover in the interbank market on Monday, closing at Rs277.92 per dollar, data shared by the State Bank of Pakistan showed. This equates to an appreciation of 54 paise, or 0.19 per cent, from Friday’s close of Rs278.46 a dollar. Tresmark’s Head of Strategy Komal Mansoor said the rupee appreciated on market expectations that a staff-level agreement (SLA) would be signe