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IMF package is no panacea, reforms needed, experts say

As Pakistan anticipates the arrival of the International Monetary Fund’s team to revive the stalled loan programme, experts have said the visit only offers a glimmer of hope with more robust reforms needed to stabilise the ailing economy. Former heads of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Federal Board of Revenue have delineated reasons for economic instability and proposed ‘the way out’.

Exports to nine regional states shrink

Pakistan’s exports to nine regional countries shrank 11.93 per cent in the first half of FY23 mainly driven by a drop in shipments to China, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan showed on Monday. The country’s exports to Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives dipped to $1.897 billion — just 13.31pc of Pakistan’s total exports of $14.25bn in

Devaluation, costly diesel hit commodity prices

Rupee devaluation against the US dollar over the last few days followed by massive increase in diesel rate has started making a negative impact on commodity prices besides jacking up the cost of living. With the holy month of Ramazan approaching, stakeholders fear an unusual situation in prices of imported finished and raw material in case landed costs continue to crawl up due to losing strengt

Expansion in nuclear power generation hits snags

The development of C-5, which is the fifth unit of the Chashma Nuclear Power Generating Station, has hit a snag because of the reported refusal by the Ministry of Finance to furnish a sovereign guarantee, sources told Dawn on Monday. The Chinese partner has agreed to provide financing for up to 85 per cent of the $3.7 billion nuclear power plant having a nameplate capacity of 1,200 megawatts, s

Oil slips on rate hike worries, Russian crude flows despite China performance

Oil prices extended losses on Tuesday as the threat of further interest rate increases and continued Russian crude flows cancelled out demand recovery expectations from China. March Brent crude futures fell five cents to $84.85 per barrel by 0415 GMT, while the more heavily traded April contracts fell by 32 cents or 0.38 per cent to $84.18 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fut