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Oil edges up

Oil prices edged higher on Monday on expectations that Opec+ would keep supplies tight and speculation that the US Federal Reserve will cease its aggressive interest rate hike campaign. Saudi Arabia has spearheaded efforts to support prices, making large voluntary output cuts as part of a production deal agreed by the Opec+ producer group comprising the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting C

Uptick in services’ exports

Paki­stan’s export of services witnessed a year-on-year paltry growth of 2.17 per cent to $538 million in the first month of the current fiscal year. The uptick was unprecedented because the commodities exports dipped in July, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In rupee terms, the exports of services grew 30.84pc in July to Rs151.182 billion against Rs115.550bn

Sugar hits new highs as former allies pass buck on smuggling

Sugar prices rose to record levels in various parts of the country on Monday, as members of the former ruling coalition continued to trade blame over who was ultimately responsible for the country’s dwindling stocks of the commodity. The growers, on the other hand, hold the recently dissolved PDM government responsible for its failure to stop the menace of smuggling which, they claim, sent almo

Cement sales jump 37pc as construction picks up

Constr­uction activities appear to have revived following a 37 per cent jump in domestic sales to 6.573 million tonnes during the first two months (July-August) 2023-24 from 4.8m tonnes in the same period last year. Export despatches also swelled by 117.13pc to 1.175m tonnes during 2MFY24 from 540,957 tonnes during the same period last year. As a result, total cement despatches (domestic and

Exporters send SOS amid dearth of fresh orders

Exporters fear more declines as the textile sector, which accounts for over 60 per cent of the country’s overall export earnings, is not getting fresh orders while India is aggressively lobbying for GSP+ status which could replace Pakistan in the European market. “We are not getting new orders for exports. We are working on orders in the pipeline which means the coming months will see a sharp d