News

Finance: Long road to economic recovery

Inflation has apparently bottomed out, but Pakistan’s journey to economic recovery may become even harder. The country’s national average inflation hit a decade-low in February 2025, with annual CPI inflation dropping to 1.5 per cent, down from 23.1pc a year earlier, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This sharp decline signals the impact of economic stabilisation efforts,

Govt to import raw sugar to ‘stabilise prices’

Barely a few weeks after exporting half a million tonnes of sugar, the federal government on Monday decided to import raw sugar to “stabilise prices” in the country. According to an official statement, the import of raw sugar (Shakkar) would help bring down prices in the country and help increase future production, as it could be refined and converted into sugar locally. Interestingly, the e

Dispersal over concentration of capital

Economic growth and development bring progress and prosperity, but at the same time, they tend to create imbalances in the growth of various sectors of the economy. If an economic model does not provide a mechanism for timely remedial measures to manage emerging macroeconomic imbalances, this raises the risk of an economic crisis. So, stability has to be blended with economic growth and develop

Stoking the US-China rivalry

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,” wrote Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. Two speeches delivered an hour and many oceans apart last week

Oil marketing companies warn of collapse over forced refinery quotas

Indicating a substantial cut in prices of petroleum prices by this weekend, the oil marketing companies (OMCs) have opposed the forced signing of ‘Take or Pay’ agreements with local refineries, arguing that the clause would unfairly burden them with financial risks. The dispute comes amid reports that price of petrol could decrease by Rs12 per litre and of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs8 per lit