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Rs1.478tr collected from fuel, climate levies in last fiscal year: govt
Revenue from petroleum and climate levies allowed the government to keep the federal budget deficit under control in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2025-26, official financial data showed.
The government raised more than Rs1.478 trillion through petroleum and environment levies to restrict the federal budget deficit to Rs3.34 trillion or 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) during the July-May period of FY2025-26.
As per the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the provinces achieved a combined budget surplus of Rs1.31 trillion in the first 11 months of the fiscal year, which helped narrow the overall fiscal deficit to Rs2.03 trillion, or 1.6% of GDP.
The government had an aim for the entire fiscal to limit the overall fiscal deficit at 3% of GDP or Rs3.77 trillion, lowered from the original target of 3.9% of GDP or Rs5.03 trillion.
The Ministry of Finance has not yet released the reconciled fiscal operations statistics for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, and the final numbers are expected to be compiled in the next few weeks.
The government collected Rs4.82 trillion from three major non-tax revenue sources, including State Bank of Pakistan profits, petroleum levy and climate support levy, during the first 11 months against a full year target of Rs5.14 trillion, official data revealed.
The government got Rs2.428 trillion in State Bank profits, Rs1.432 trillion from petroleum levy and Rs45.97 billion under the climate assistance levy during the time.
Meanwhile, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs11.228 trillion as tax, Rs6.163 trillion was spent on servicing the debt while authorities said that all the funds earmarked for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) had been properly utilized.
Latest News
LHC issues show-cause notice to senior police officer
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Model Town,
The court ordered the SP concerned to appear before it today (3 Nov). It also warned him of contempt of court proceedings against him if he does not appear before the court.
Citizen Muhammed Sajid has moved the petition which would be heard by Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa.
Business
Saudi Aramco profits surge 34.6% in third quarter
Saudi oil company Aramco said Tuesday its third-quarter net earnings soared 34.6 percent as the Middle East war has kept crude prices high and the kingdom’s energy infrastructure regularly struck.
Since hostilities erupted in July, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have routinely targeted Saudi tankers, pipelines, storage facilities and refineries but have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks.
The monarchy also has had to deal with the Houthis and Iran disrupting commerce in the straits of Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz making exports more difficult.
But Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s economic engine and one of the world’s most valuable firms, posted soaring earnings in the third quarter, powered in large part by stubbornly high oil prices.
The company stated net profit in the third quarter was 135.9 billion riyals ($36.2 billion), compared with roughly 101 billion riyals in the same time a year earlier.
The results come as energy majors throughout the world have seen profits jump on the back of interruptions to oil and gas supplies in the Middle East pushing up refining margins and prices.
But the head of Aramco cautioned the dispute was still a major drag on energy security.”Geopolitical uncertainty and attacks on key energy facilities continued to amplify the global energy supply crisis in the third quarter of 2026, with serious implications for global energy security,” said president and CEO Amin H. Nasser in a statement.
Adjusted net income, excluding exceptional items, was 116.9 billion riyals.
An outside estimate based on 12 experts estimates puts the median analyst expectation for third-quarter adjusted net income at $30.66 billion.”The earning results are likely to be rosier (compared) to a year ago, when oil prices were much lower, but less promising compared to last quarter,” Robert Mogielnicki, a research fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told AFP.
Aramco’s net profit rose 44 percent year-on-year to 122.6 billion riyals in the second quarter.
The Middle East war, which began on February 28 with Israeli and U.S. assaults on Iran, has disrupted global energy markets, triggered a global run on critical reserves, and fed inflation.
And as conflict continues to rage in the Gulf, Ukrainian drones have also struck Russian energy infrastructure, causing Moscow to block shipment of several items – particularly petrol and diesel.
The Houthis said last month they attacked Aramco’s headquarters, a sprawling complex of buildings and housing in the eastern part of the kingdom.
Saudi officials stated a structure was damaged in the region housing the operations center of Aramco, while two employees of the business, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a tower in the headquarters was hit.
- A tight spot – With the Strait of Hormuz in dispute, US Navy naval escorts have been allowing millions of barrels of crude to flow through the vital waterway each day.
US Central Command said last month it had assisted Gulf nations export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil through the strait since the summer, and enabled more than 3,000 commercial boats transit over the past six months.
But the rise in Gulf exports has done nothing to stop market volatility.
Oil prices dropped more than seven percent on Monday as signals that Tehran and Washington were resuming communication raised hopes for an end to the Middle East turmoil.
Back in the kingdom, months of uncertainty have compounded economic challenges.
Saudi Arabia has raised its estimated budget deficit for 2026 to 245 billion riyals, or 4.9 percent of gross domestic product, from an initial forecast of 165 billion riyals. Government receipts were higher than previously forecast.
Government spending will rise 9.3 percent more than previously predicted, but the finance ministry expects the Saudi economy would shrink 3.6 percent in 2026, as oil-related activity will fall 21.8 percent.
The kingdom aims to lower its deficit to 191 billion riyals in 2027, or 3.6 percent of GDP, while continuing to invest in economic diversification programs.
The IMF now expects Saudi Arabia’s GDP to shrink by 3.3% at the end of the year, five percentage points less than its previous prediction in July.
Business
Binance to reopen withdrawals for more assets on several networks
Binance announced on Monday that it will reopen withdrawals for more assets on networks including as BSC, ETH, SOL, XRP and SUI.
Reopenings will commence at 04:00 GMT on Tuesday, the business said.
Some crypto-assets on networks ARBITRUM, OPTIMISM, TRX, and BASE will also be restored for withdrawals at the same time.
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