Oil prices rose on Friday supported by concerns of Venezuelan supply disruptions, though they remained on track for a weekly drop amid cautious market sentiment and optimism over the prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.70%, to $61.71 a barrel by 0352 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $58.03 a barrel, up 43 cents, or 0.75%. The
The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% during the opening minutes of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10am, the local currency was hovering at 280.15, a gain of Re0.22 against the greenback. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 280.37. Internationally, the US dollar headed for its third straight weekly drop on Friday, hurt by the prospect of
Pakistan’s central bank is expected to retain interest rates at 11% on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, as analysts push back rate-cut forecasts to late 2026 after the IMF warned inflation risks persist and policy must stay “appropriately tight”. All 12 analysts surveyed expect no cut in the policy meeting on Monday. A majority of them see inflation hovering at 6%–8% in the coming months before r
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed the historical milestone of 170,000 points on Wednesday, but it could not hold the fresh peak and fell gradually to close trading on a flat note. Investors were inclined to book profits at significantly higher valuations of equities, which dragged the market down from the intra-day high of 170,698 earlier in the session to the intra-day low of 169,239 t
The record-breaking performance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is drawing companies back to equities, setting up what bankers say could be a banner year for initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2026, reported Bloomberg on Wednesday. According to the report, two of Pakistan’s leading investment banks — Arif Habib Ltd. and Ktrade Securities Ltd. — have a combined pipeline of 16 IPOs over the