Business

Pakistan’s economy achieved stability following the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to S&P.COM

Published

3 months ago

Farwa

Regarding Pakistan, S&P Global Ratings has maintained its “CCC+” long-term sovereign credit rating and “C” short-term rating. Regarding the long-term rating, the prognosis is unchanged.

Pakistan would be able to pay its debts more easily because of the IMF agreement, which is predicted to increase foreign exchange reserves. Rollovers are still necessary for Pakistan to keep up its foreign debt, nevertheless.

Pakistan’s economy will continue to be under pressure from debt obligations, even in the face of stability. The economy may also be impacted by monetary policy, inflation, and uncertain circumstances.

On the other hand, the default risk has decreased due to the growth in foreign exchange reserves. Controlling current account deficits and foreign exchange flows is crucial for preserving economic stability.

To sustain Pakistan’s economic stability, the report stated that funds from the IMF, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and China must be rolled over on schedule.

Positively, Fitch Ratings raised Pakistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from “CCC” to “CCC+” on July 29.

The Fitch Company stated in a statement on Monday that “the upgrade reflects greater certainty over the continued availability of external funding, in the context of Pakistan’s staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF on a new 37-month USD7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).”

It issued a warning, saying, “Nevertheless, Pakistan’s significant funding needs leave it vulnerable if it fails to implement tough reforms, which could undermine program performance and funding.”

Given the substantial policy changes in the most recent budget for the fiscal year ending in June 2025 (FY25) and the solid track record of support, we think this will be possible.

According to Fitch, Pakistan’s nine-month standby arrangement with the global lender was effectively concluded in April for the last IMF program.

Business

Minister of Finance Reaffirms Unwavering Support for APM Terminals Group in Effort to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s Minister of Finance, has promised the APM Terminals Group his full support in creating an environment that is both business-friendly and conducive to investment.

In Islamabad, he met with a group of APM terminals who had come to hear him speak. Keith Svendsen, CEO of APM Terminals, was in charge of the group.

Muhammad Aurangzeb, a senator from Pakistan, expressed his approval of APM Terminals’ investment plans.

Following last month’s signing of a memorandum of agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation, the meeting’s emphasis was on the actions taken to date.

Business

Pakistan’s gold prices are declining.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Ten grams of 24 carat gold also had a price decrease of Rs. 1,115, from Rs. 239,026 to Rs. 237,911, while ten kilos of 22 carat gold saw a rise in price from Rs. 219,107 to Rs. 218.085.

The cost of ten grams of silver and one tola of silver stayed at Rs. 2,829.21 and Rs. 3,300, respectively.

As stated by the Association, the price of gold fell $13 to $2,670 on the global market.

On Monday, November 11, 24-karat gold prices fell to 3,771 Saudi Riyals (SAR) per tola in Saudi Arabia.

The price of 24-kar gold is SAR 10,067 per ounce, while 10 grams of the metal are being sold for SAR 3,237 in the kingdom, according to forex.pk.

Note: Since the prices were updated at 10:15 am on November 11, 2024, there may be some discrepancies in this post due to the dynamic nature of the gold market globally, especially in Saudi Arabia.

As the markets anticipate the Federal Reserve to take a cautious stance under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, gold prices fell for a second session on Monday due to a stronger dollar and heightened risk appetite.

As of 09:27 GMT, spot gold was down 0.6% to $2,666.48 an ounce. The price of US gold futures dropped 0.8% to $2,673.20.

“A stronger U.S. dollar, rising Treasury yields, and increased risk appetite in financial markets are the main reasons why gold prices have declined — a trend that has gained momentum since Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s presidential election,” said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

Business

Prices for cooking oil and ghee have increased in Pakistan.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Details show that although the price of ghee increased to Rs 550, the price of cooking oil increased by Rs 30 to Rs 560.

The market vendors said that the cost of Karachi-branded ghee had increased by an astounding Rs 120 over the past month, to Rs 500.

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which measures weekly inflation, increased by 0.28 percent for all consumer categories during the week ending October 17, according to a report released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on October 18.

In the aforementioned group, the SPI for the week under review was 319.79 points, compared to 318.91 points the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

In the week under examination, the SPI for the combined consumption group increased by 15.02 percent compared to the same week last year.

51 important goods for all expenditure groups and 17 urban centers are covered by the weekly SPI with base year 2015–16 = 100.

Additionally, the SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, increased by 0.27 percent from 312.91 points last week to 313.74 points.