The government is expected to pass on the impact of lower international prices to consumers with a cut in the rates of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD). In the upcoming fortnightly review of prices on June 15, petrol is expected to go down by about Rs9 and HSD by Rs5 per litre. According to sources, the prices of petrol and HSD had declined in the international market by about $3.75 and $2
While the people are still trying to gauge the real impact of the new budget on their lives, an interaction with the man on the street revealed that 40 per cent Pakistanis living below the poverty line had a feeling the government had left them to fend for themselves. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said nothing about tackling poverty in his budget speech, disappointing the have-nots who
Some pre-budget optimism emerged at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as the KSE-100 index rebounded following two consecutive sessions of significant declines. The upturn followed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s assurance to the nation of efforts to stabilise the economy ahead of the federal budget presentation. Earlier, the trading session began with a spike but soon inv
The stock market ended its seven-session losing streak on Wednesday before the budget announcement, buoyed by optimism about the government’s privatisation plan and debt rollover talks with China. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said equities showed recovery after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb affirmed at the Economic Survey 2023-24 presser that state-owned enterprises’ privatisat
Pakistan has planned to borrow a minimum of $23 billion in the next fiscal year, including the rollover of a bilateral debt of $12 billion, to finance its swelling development plan and meet the nation’s external financing requirement. Budget documents for fiscal year 2024-25 showed that Pakistan would borrow at least $23.2 billion, or Rs5.9 trillion, which did not include any loan from the Inte