News

SPI rises 0.22%

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended February 17, 2022 registered an increase of 0.22% for the combined income group, going up from 169.23 points during the week ended February 10, 2022 to 169.61 points in the week under review. The SPI for the combined income group rose 18.09% compared to the corresponding week of previous year. The SPI for the lowest income group decreased 0.16

Rupee strengthens against dollar

The rupee strengthened against the US dollar at Rs175.75 in the inter-bank market on Monday compared with Friday’s close of Rs175.86, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On December 29, 2021 the rupee hit an all-time low of Rs178.24 against the greenback as demand for the dollar stood higher compared to its supply in the wake of an expanding current account deficit, swelling imports, ri

Contraband steel threatens local industry

Large steel producers of the nation have said that smuggled steel from Afghanistan and Iran was destroying the domestic industry. In a letter written to the Federal Board of Revenue Member Customs Operations Syed Muhammad Tariq Huda, Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) General Secretary Syed Wajid Bukhari stated that contraband steel was denting the earnings of local steel pro

Country set to become net phone exporter

Pakistan’s telecom sector is witnessing a paradigm shift and as a result the country is on its way to become a net exporter of handsets from being an importer at present. Foreign shipments of mobile phones, which began last year, are contributing to the economy in terms of foreign exchange earnings, employment generation and transfer of technology. The pace of cellphone exports has gradually

Smuggled goods perturb FMCG sector

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in Pakistan have stated that smuggled or illegally imported products from Iran were posing significant threat to their profits and sales. They highlighted that such goods cost half as much as locally available ones and their availability was increasing on the back of climbing inflation reading. To highlight the issue, the Pakistan Dairy Associa