The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has raised the export refinancing markup rates by 200 basis points, bringing them close to the current policy interest rate of 16 per cent. In a circular issued on Thursday, the central bank said it had decided to reduce the gap between its policy rate and the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) and Long-Term Financing Facility (LTFF) rates from the existing 5pc to 3pc
With the expected IMF tranche still nowhere to be seen, State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves on Thursday further declined by $294 million to $5.8 billion — their eight years’ low — making it even more difficult for the country to repay its foreign debts. The country has been facing a worrisome scenario as the reserves are not enough to service its huge foreign debt. Though Fina
Bears became aggressive at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as they completely sidelined the bulls and the market lost significant ground, which analysts attributed to the delay in resumption of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan programme. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated that Pakistan “will not default” on international payments as the government had arranged the entire r
It has been a rough 12 months for emerging markets that have seen more governments stumble into default, currencies suffer and double-digit losses in stocks and bonds alike – though many investors are optimistic that 2023 could bring some relief. Developing economies are expected to cling to their growth differential over developed peers, but recession fears in the United States as well as Euro
In addition to dollars, the smuggling of high-value food goods to neighbouring countries has continued to take a toll on the Pakistani currency which dropped to an almost 3-month low to stand at Rs226.37 against the greenback on Wednesday. The rupee maintained a downtick on the seventh consecutive working day, falling by a fresh 0.10% (or Rs0.22) to Rs226.37 in the inter-bank market. Elabora