News

Govt cuts T-bill rates by 140bps

The government slashed the rate of treasury bills by up to 140 basis points on Wednesday in an auction held days before announcement of the mone­tary policy, reflecting the State Bank’s approach towards interest rates. On the other hand, commercial banks participated in the auction with a huge amount of Rs2.188 trillion, but the government was able to raise only Rs820 billion. It was twice the

Pakistan exports tractors to Tanzania

The first consignment of Pakistani-made tractors reached Tanzania on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in the country’s trade relations with East Africa. An official announcement of the commerce ministry said that Masai Trekta Company Ltd, having recently opened its tractor distribution head office in Tanzania, has become a key partner in distributing Pakistani ATS tractors across Tanz

Low imports, inflation hit revenue collection

With falling imports and a sharp deceleration in inflation, the government is urged to renegotiate targets of macroeconomic indicators with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to lower the tax burden on the salaried class and corporate sector and boost economic activity. The IMF team will visit Islamabad next month to conduct the first economic review under the 37-month $7 billion Extended Fu

Gold surges to record Rs287,900 per tola

Gold continued to shine as 10-gram and one-tola rates hit a new all-time high of Rs246,828 and Rs287,900 on Tuesday, up by Rs2,486 and Rs2,900, respectively, day-on-day. As per All Sindh Saraf and Jewellers Association (ASSJA), an increase of $29 per ounce to $2,784 pushed up domestic rates, which also included a $20 per ounce premium in the global bullion rates which the association had starte

Govt turns cautious on economic recovery optimism

Expre­ssing concerns over cotton production and confusing signals from the manufacturing sector, the government expressed “cautious optimism” on Wednesday about sustainable economic recovery and a further deceleration in inflation. “Inflation will remain within the range of 6-7 per cent in October and further down to 5.5-6.5pc in Nove­mber,” said the Mini­s­try of Finance (MoF) in its Mont­hly