Business
Sindh to present around Rs3.4tn budget for FY2026-27 today
The Sindh government will introduce its budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 today with a total outlay of more than Rs3.4 trillion, authorities said.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will table the budget in the provincial legislature. The development budget suggested is Rs720 billion and contains more than 3,715 development programs.
Sources said that 73 per cent of the total revenue of Sindh is likely to be received in the form of transfers under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
The budget is also likely to bring respite to government employees with a 10 percent hike in pay and an 8 percent hike in pensions on the cards.
Sources claimed the overall development budget of the province will be about 28 per cent less than the allotment for the current fiscal year. Of the development outlay, Rs256 billion has been planned for foreign project assistance and Rs68 billion has been proposed under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The administration is also contemplating to slash the District Annual Development Programme (ADP) allocation from Rs55 billion to Rs15 billion. The Provincial Development Programme is likely to be about Rs385 billion.
Budget data show the development portfolio includes 3,594 current projects and 120 non-approved, new ideas. The Local Government Department’s water supply, drainage and sanitation projects are 972 schemes while the Education Department has 655 schemes in the budget. Hundreds of development projects have also been funded for the Works and Services Department.
The proposed budget has allocated Rs6.3 billion for development projects of law and order institutions, Rs1.5 billion for divisional headquarters schemes, Rs6 billion for fast-track completion of ongoing projects and Rs250 million for development initiatives in undeveloped districts.
Ahead of the budget session, the Sindh Cabinet is also set to convene at 11am to evaluate supplementary expenditures for the outgoing fiscal year and adopt budget plans for FY2026-27.
The Planning and Development Department will also apprise the cabinet about the Annual Development Programme and approve decisions taken by the finance committee and approvals of minutes of previous meetings and summaries of circulation.
Business
As oil rises due to concerns about the Strait of Hormuz closing, gold falls more than 1%.
– Gold prices slid more than 1% on Monday as fears of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove oil prices sharply higher, reviving expectations of elevated interest rates to combat inflationary pressures from escalating hostilities in the Middle East.
Spot gold dropped 1.5% to $4,060.36 per ounce by 0541 GMT. U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down 1.1% at $4,068.30.
U.S. and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices jumped about 4%, the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields climbed, and share markets slipped in Asia.
“Any breakout of violence in the Gulf is accompanied by pressure on gold,” said Nicholas Frappell, global head of institutional markets at ABC Refinery.
“The question is, if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively or partially closed, does that lead to a deflationary effect, further down the road, that might actually be supportive for gold if you have demand destruction leading to lower economic activity,” Frappell added.
Kevin Warsh’s first semiannual testimony before Congress as Federal Reserve chair, along with a slate of key U.S. economic data, including June CPI, PPI and retail sales, will be closely watched this week for fresh clues on the economy, inflation and the monetary policy outlook.
Remarks from Fed policymakers, including Vice Chair Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller, later in the day are also in focus as they could provide insights on how inflationary pressures are affecting the central bank’s stance on interest rate hikes.
Traders are currently pricing in a 72% chance of a U.S. Fed interest rate hike in September, up from about 63% last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. FEDWATCH/ COMEX gold speculators trimmed their net long positions by 1,964 contracts to 114,854 in the week to July 7, data released on Friday showed, following three consecutive weeks of increases.
Elsewhere, spot silver declined 2.6% to $58.29 per ounce, platinum shed 1.6% to $1,601.92, and palladium fell 2% to $1,251.42
Business
Oil prices climb as US, Iran fight for control of Hormuz
muz, one of the most important trade routes for global energy supplies.
US crude oil futures were up 4.1% at $74:33 per barrel as of 9:15 p.m. ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, traded 3.88% higher at $78.96.
The US military launched another wave of strikes Sunday against Iran after hitting 140 targets on Saturday, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes are in response to an attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a container ship transiting Hormuz.
Iran responded Sunday with strikes on U.S. military facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, according to the state news agency Tasnim.
Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guard had closed the Hormuz until further notice, but the U.S. military disputed that claim. Centcom said the strait was open to “all vessels seeking to lawfully transit.”
“U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations,” Centcom said in a social media post Sunday. “Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing.”
Business
PSX has a steep sell-off this week.
— The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) launched the first trading session of the week with a dramatic sell-off, as intense selling pressure pulled the benchmark KSE-100 Index down by more than 2,100 points in early trade.
At the opening of the session, the benchmark index plummeted to the psychological barrier of about 180,100 points after losing more than 2,100 points.
The fall came after a positive conclusion in the previous trading session, when the KSE-100 Index gained 982 points to conclude at 182,241 points at the end of the day.
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