News

Oil prices rise on fragile Mideast peace hopes

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, edging closer to USD100 a barrel while stocks fell as further attacks between the United States and Iran dented hopes of an imminent peace deal. During the day in Asia trading, oil prices jumped more than two percent on Wednesday as Middle East peace talks stuttered. “Oil prices continue to make headway after the overnight strikes on Kuwait, and once more it is

Selling at bourse, KSE-100 sheds over 500 points in early trade

Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 500 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 170,499.45, down by 522.32 points or 0.31%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas explo

Pakistan\'s budget unlikely to be presented on June 5, government source says

Pakistan’s federal budget is not likely to be presented on June 5, a government source and local media said on Wednesday, mainly as some fiscal measures have not been settled with the International Monetary Fund. The budget might be presented on June 10, the source and Geo News TV said. The government source sought anonymity because he was not authorised to disclose the information. Stabi

Govt to announce budget on June 10 instead of June 5, says parliamentarian

Pakistan government will present its annual budget on June 10 for the financial year 2026-27, it was learnt on Tuesday. Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Member of the National Assembly (MNA), Tahira Aurangzeb, confirmed to Business Recorder that the federal budget, which was earlier scheduled to be announced on June 5 (Friday), would now be presented on June 10 (Wednesday)

Beyond the IMF baseline: Pakistan’s hard fiscal choices in FY27 budget

On April 27, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised the policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5%, its first hike since June 2023. On May 14, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published Country Report 26/101, projecting fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) growth at 3.5%, average inflation at 8.4%, a current account deficit of 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), gross reserves rising toward $21 billio