Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus in November 2025, reversing the deficit recorded a month earlier, largely on the back of a sharp reduction in trade and services deficits. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported a current account surplus of USD 100 million in November, compared with a deficit of USD 291 million in October. The improvement was driven by a significant
Gold prices were steady on Thursday, supported by dovish Federal Reserve signals but restrained by a resilient dollar ahead of key US inflation data this week, while silver hovered near record highs. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $4,334.70 an ounce, as of 0534 GMT, after rising more than 1% late on Wednesday. US gold futures also eased 0.2% to $4,365.40. The dollar index held on to earlier g
Oil prices were up nearly a dollar in Asian trade on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced a blockade on tankers entering and leaving Venezuela and most exports from the country remained on hold. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 98 cents, or 1.7%, at $56.89 per barrel at 0120 GMT, after initially rising more than a dollar. Brent crude rose 92 cents or 1.54% to $60.60 per
The Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.06% during the opening minutes of trading in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At 10am, the local currency was hovering at 280.10, a gain of Re0.17 against the greenback. On Wednesday, the local unit closed at 280.27. Globally, the US dollar held gains against its major counterparts on Thursday as markets positioned for
Bilal bin Saqib, the head of Pakistan’s newly established virtual assets regulator, has come under criticism after publicly advising citizens to ‘watch videos’ to buy Bitcoin, even as millions of Pakistanis remain exposed to unregulated peer-to-peer crypto markets. “I am not a financial advisor, but if you still want to buy Bitcoins. There are multiple videos through which 30-40 million people