News

Petroleum sales rise in September

The country’s overall oil sales recorded a month-on-month increase of 5 per cent and 20pc year-on-year to 1.27 million tonnes in September. According to Arif Habib Ltd (AHL), petrol sales rose 2pc to 0.63m tonnes in September from 0.62m tonnes in August while sales jumped 22pc year-on-year. An 8pc rise was recorded in high-speed diesel (HSD) to 0.49m tonnes from 0.46m tonnes in August. Howev

Banks trapped in surplus liquidity

Banks find themselves trapped in liquidity surplus these days, forcing them to start lending at throwaway rates as low as three per cent per annum to avoid paying tax on Advance-to-Deposit Ratio (ADR) applicable at the end of calendar year 2024. Banking has completely changed in Pakistan as both the government and the banks are flush with liquidity. For years the government has been the largest

Deadline to file returns extended to Oct 14

In a late-night decision, the government has extended until Oct 14 the deadline for filing income tax ret­urns for the tax year 2024. The move will provide an opportunity to people, who had not filed their tax returns by the Sept 30 deadline, to fulfil the requirement. Although the income tax ordinance specifies Sept 30 as the deadline for submitting returns, the government has regularly ext

Inflation plummets to 44-month low of 6.9pc

The annual consumer inflation plunged to a 44-month low of 6.9 per cent in September, owing to a steady decline in global commodity prices, an increase in domestic agricultural production and a stable currency rate. The headline inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), had slowed the previous month to 9.6pc, the first single-digit reading in more than three years, data released by

Siddiqsons rolls back tin mill project

Siddiqsons Tin Plate Ltd has decided to roll back the Tine Mill Black Plate (TMBP) project due to high inflation, increased markup rates and significant fluctuations in rupee-dollar parity. In a stock filing on Tuesday, the company said the current economic environment has created a situation where the continuation of the TMBP project is not financially feasible. Additionally, the rising costs