Energy shock could derail Pak economic recovery

Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan and Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI, today expressed grave concern over the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, warning of an unprecedented global energy shock that could derail Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery. He stated that with global Brent crude prices surging past USD105 per barrel and imported LNG prices reaching USD8.72 per MMBtu following severe disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, urgent and decisive policy measures are required to insulate the national economy. Mian Zahid Hussain noted that the recent steep hike in domestic retail fuel prices is merely the first tremor of a broader macroeconomic shock that threatens to undo recent stabilization efforts which can shrink Pakistan’s GDP by 1percent.