Oil prices rose more than two per cent on Wednesday, bouncing back from multi-month lows, after data showed a bigger-than-expected draw in US crude stockpiles, even as worries about weak oil demand in China persisted. Brent crude futures were up $1.84, or 2.41pc, to $78.32 a barrel at 1:35pm EDT (1735 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.96, or 2.68pc, to $75.16. US crude stocks f
MCB Bank posted a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs16.79 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 14 per cent over the Rs14.67bn PAT in the same period last year. In its consolidated financial statement, released to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the bank reported earnings per share at Rs14.17 during the April-June quarter compared to Rs12.38 in the same period last year.
The government slightly reduced the cut-off yields by up to 54 basis points for different tenors to raise Rs260 billion, exceeding the auction target of Rs210bn, on Wednesday. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), it received a total of Rs1.77 trillion in bids. This was the first auction after the 100bps cut announced on July 29 to bring down the SBP policy rate to 19.5pc. The yi
The first month of the current fiscal year saw a record foreign investment of $258.3 million in treasury bills (T-bills) after January 2020. The latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday showed that inflows exceeded the previous monthly high of $230m recorded in May. However, the inflows were far less than the $1.4bn invested in T-bills and Pakistan Investment Bon
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad cautioned on Wednesday that budgetary measures are expected to increase inflation but assured that the external sector will remain manageable in the current fiscal year, thanks to debt rollovers from friendly countries. Mr Ahmad testified before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, chaired by MNA Naveed Qamar, and pr