The federal government has borrowed record money, over Rs760 billion, from scheduled banks during the first two months of the current fiscal year (FY23). The latest data of the State Bank of Pakistan shows not only the increasing dependence of the government on banks’ money but that the cost of borrowing is also very high. The federal government borrowed Rs760.4bn during July-Aug FY23 from b
Oil prices rose on Friday as investors considered Russia’s threat to halt oil and gas exports to some buyers, but crude was set for a second straight weekly decline as central banks’ aggressive rate hikes and China’s Covid-19 curbs weighed on demand. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $89.42 a barrel by 0330 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 15 cent
Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha on Wednesday said the current account deficit had reached $17 billion in the last financial year. “The current account deficit increased in the last year and we faced this situation,” she told the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. She added that as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme was stalled, other financial institutions wer
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Wednesday cleared the air about electricity relief to the consumers of 300 units a month on account of the fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for the month of June -- being recovered in coming months. “It has been deferred,” briefly replied Miftah while responding to a question whether PM Shehbaz had deferred or waived off the Rs9.90 per unit FCA. He was addressing
The Pakistan Stock Exchange observed yet another range-bound session on Wednesday owing to the continuous depreciation of the local currency against the dollar. The benchmark index opened in the positive zone but failed to continue its momentum as investors’ participation remained sluggish, according to Arif Habib Ltd. The rupee depreciated 0.9 per cent day-on-day to close at 223.42 against the