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Govt working on formula to cut power rates: petroleum minister

The government has decided in principle to create a blended gas pricing mechanism by abolishing the ring-fenced Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pricing and merging it with wellhead and pipeline quality natural gases to scale down power rates and provide a level playing field to all consumer categories. This was stated by Minister for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik while talking to journalists. He said

Govt raises Rs835bn without a cut in T-bills rates

Without changing the cut-off yields on treasury bills (T-bills), the government raised Rs835 billion, exceeding the auction target, on Wednesday. Financial market experts said the auction result was up to expectations since the market has already incorporated the expected cut in the interest rate. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is scheduled to announce a monetary policy for the next two mo

Labour income falls amid rising inequality: ILO

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned that the share of labour income, which represents the proportion of total income earned by workers in an economy, has experienced a decline over the past two decades by 1.6 percentage points. New estimates indicate that the labour income share continued to decrease since 2019, declining to 52.3pc in 2022 and remaining at that level in 2023

Trade gap with Middle East widens 36pc

Pakis­t­an trade imbalance with the Middle East widened 35.5 per cent to $1.081 billion in the first month of 2024-25 from $797.78 million over the same month last year ow­ing to a rise in petroleum imports from the region. The trade gap narrowed significantly in FY24. Still, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Paki­stan, the rising trade deficit with the region will concern policym

Aurangzeb highlights opportunities to foreign investors

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb asked foreign investors on Wednesday to explore fixed-income investment opportunities in the economy. During a meeting with a delegation of international investors, led by JP Morgan Pakistan CEO Amin Mohammad Khowaja, the minister highlighted the significant strides Pakistan has made in improving its macroeconomic indicators — including a 14 per cent rise in