Pakistan’s trade deficit with the Middle East increased 10.11 per cent to $10.502 billion in the first nine months of FY25 from $9.538bn in the same period last year due to higher petroleum imports. The growing trade deficit raises concerns among decision-makers, mainly due to the rising influx of petroleum products. Meanwhile, export growth to select countries in the region remains minimal, ac
Beijing is “evaluating” an offer from Washington to hold talks over US President Donald Trump’s 145 per cent tariffs, China’s Commerce Ministry said on Friday, although it warned the United States not to engage in “extortion and coercion”. Washington and Beijing have been locked in a cat-and-mouse game over tariffs, with both sides unwilling to be seen to back down or be the first to come to th
Exports as a percentage of GDP have consistently declined while poor Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) could not generate higher economic productivity, said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In a detailed research in the half-yearly report on the State of the Economy 2024-25, released on Monday, the central bank observed that one of the key underlying issues facing Pakistan’s economy was weak com
Bulls bounced back on the trading floor on Tuesday as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange climbed more than 800 points after a day of volatility. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 808.28 points, or 0.71 per cent, to stand at 114,872.18 from the previous close of 114,063.90. Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, said, attributed the bull run to the announcement of the Inte
IT was in 1776, the year of the American Declaration of Independence, that celebrated economist Adam Smith’s magnum opus Wealth of Nations was published. While almost everyone in the economics fraternity — and a considerable number outside of it — is aware of the work, not many bother to delve into what he wrote or to contemplate what he said. (It is amusing to see folks, who have never read a