News

OPEC cuts 2026 global oil demand growth forecast

OPEC on Wednesday lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026, joining other forecasters such as the International Energy Agency in cutting expectations due to the Iran war. The producer group sees a smaller hit to demand than the IEA, which earlier on Wednesday increased its estimate of the decline in oil use this year. OPEC said consumption would rebound later and raised its dem

Buying interest at bourse, KSE-100 up 600 points in early trade

Buying was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 600 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday. At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,561.27, a gain of 645.05 points or 0.38%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs

Cooperation with China: Pak envoy calls for enhancing economic diplomacy, innovation

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Khalil Hashmi on Tuesday emphasised the need for Pakistan to strengthen economic diplomacy, innovation, industrialisation and regional connectivity to fully benefit from growing Pakistan-China cooperation. He was addressing a luncheon hosted for the Karachi business community by the Foreign Affairs Liaison Office, where business leaders,

SBP projects Pakistan’s FY26 GDP growth at 3.75-4.75%, warns of Middle East war risks

Despite headwinds from global trade-related uncertainty and domestic floods, Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability strengthened further in H1-FY26, as revealed in the State of Pakistan’s Economy, Half Year Report FY26, released on Tuesday. The central bank report noted that the Middle East War poses significant risks to the macroeconomic outlook amid heightened uncertainty, where supply chain disr

Oil settles higher

Oil prices settled higher for the third consecutive session on Tuesday as stark differences between the US and Iran over a proposal to end the war in the Middle East raised concerns that supply disruptions upending the global oil market are likely to be prolonged. Brent crude futures gained USD3.56, or 3.42 percent, to settle at USD107.77 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate futures closed