State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Wednesday that the country would start receiving US dollar inflows from next week, which would help shore up the central bank’s rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves. Addressing businessmen at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), he acknowledged that the country’s reserves had fallen quite low but
Concerns over the country’s financial deterioration echoed in the Senate on Tuesday, with a treasury lawmaker calling for a parliamentary probe into the causes of economic downfall over the past 10 years. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui suggested forming a committee comprising lawmakers to review the causes of economic downfall since 2013. In a wide-ran
Oil prices rose on Wednesday to their highest since early December on optimism that the lifting of China’s strict Covid-19 curbs will lead to a fuel demand recovery in the world’s top oil importer. Brent crude futures were up $1.21, or 1.41 per cent, to $87.13 a barrel by 0942 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.36, or 1.7pc, to $81.54. Both were at their highes
As the rupee continues to weaken faster than market expectations, doubts and fears are mounting over the country’s economic health, particularly its ability to pay the import bill for essential items in the coming weeks. The exchange rate has been primarily hit hard by a steep decline in the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves, which have shrunk to a near nine-year low of $4.34 billion.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Wednesday the current account deficit (CAD) fell to $0.4 billion in December 2022 from $1.9bn a year earlier, as the cash-strapped government slashed imports in a bid to avert an external payments crisis. Foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank stand at $4.3bn — enough cover for just three weeks of imports — and the International Monetary Fund