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Second phase of rightsizing put on hold

The government has put the second phase of rightsizing of the federal government on hold in a bid to address the observations raised by cabinet members. The Cabinet Committee on Rightsizing had submitted recommendations relating to the second phase of rightsizing of the federal government. However, the cabinet members in a recent meeting made several observations about the plan. They observe

Inflation eases to 4.1% in December

The average pace of increase in prices of about 600 goods further slowed down to 4.1% in December, providing more room to reduce policy rate this month without risking fiscal and external sector stability. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Wednesday that inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) further eased to 4.1% in December compared to the same month of last year.

Industries demand oil price reduction

Industrialists have condemned the recent hike in diesel and petrol prices and urged the prime minister to take action and reduce the rates. On the one hand, the PM announced the Uraan Pakistan programme while on the other hand, institutions were raising prices of petroleum products, which reflected a stark contrast in policies, the industrialists said. According to a notification issued by t

Bulls celebrate new year with all-time high rally

Bulls celebrated new year at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with a new 1,800 point rally on Wednesday, crossing the barrier of 117,000. The KSE-100 index climbed 1544.18, or 1.34 per cent, to stand at 116,681.01 points from the previous close of 115,126.90 at 11:53am. Finally, the index closed at record-high 117,008.08, up by 1881.18 or 1.63pc. from the last close. Awais Ashraf, direct

CPI inflation clocks in at 4.1pc for December 2024 — lowest in nearly 7 years

Pakistan’s annual consumer price index inflation rate was 4.1 per cent in December 2024, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Wednesday. According to PBS, CPI inflation decreased to 4.1pc “on year-on-year basis in December 2024 as compared to 4.9pc in the previous month and 29.7pc in December 2023”. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, it highlighted that it increased by 0