Gold prices inches up ahead of US Federal Reserve's policy signals later Wednesday on reducing stimulus.Spot gold climb to $1,777.68 per ounce by 0356 GMT, while US gold futures recotded flat at $1,778.00.Gold could get some relief for the near term however the downtrend for the month would hold In the absence of an official taper signal, DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak said.Spot gold may retest support at $1,744. Fed's two-day meet is due to conclude on Wednesday as investors focus on any new signals on when a taper may begin.US central bank is also likely to provide an outlook on interest rate hikes from the current near zero level.Wednesday's statement will also offer Fed's rate projections for 2024 for the first time. "If it lo...
September 22, 2021 at 2:46 pm | Economic Affairs
TOKYO: The dollar held below a near one-month high Wednesday following investors focus default by Chinese property developer Evergrande and the expected pace of US monetary policy tightening.Dollar index stood at 93.226 in early Asian trade, staying not far off Monday's one-month high of 93.455.The euro changed hands at $1.1725, having stabilised at a one-month low of $1.1700 on Monday.The common currency dropped to a seven-month low of 127.93 yen, as the safe-haven Japanese currency was supported by the cautious mood.The dollar traded at 109.165 yen, near the low end of its trading range since mid-August.The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its policy on hold later in the day."Due to worries about Evergrande, the market is still in risk...
September 22, 2021 at 2:44 pm | Economic Affairs
TOKYO: The dollar held below a near one-month high Wednesday following investors focus default by Chinese property developer Evergrande and the expected pace of US monetary policy tightening.Dollar index stood at 93.226 in early Asian trade, staying not far off Monday's one-month high of 93.455.The euro changed hands at $1.1725, having stabilised at a one-month low of $1.1700 on Monday.The common currency dropped to a seven-month low of 127.93 yen, as the safe-haven Japanese currency was supported by the cautious mood.The dollar traded at 109.165 yen, near the low end of its trading range since mid-August.The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its policy on hold later in the day."Due to worries about Evergrande, the market is still in risk-...
September 22, 2021 at 2:42 pm | Economic Affairs
September 22,2021Islamabad (Press Release) Samsung Electronics is in the process of establishing their TV line-up plant in collaboration with the R&R Industries at Karachi, learnt from the Commerce Ministry. It will become functional in Q4 of 2021 and is expected to produce 50,000 units annually. This is a vindication of MOC’s "Make-in-Pakistan" policy for industrialisation via rationalisation of input costs and other incentives
September 22, 2021 at 2:28 pm | Economic Affairs
HONG KONG: 22 Sept—Asian investors trod carefully on Wednesday but nerves appeared to be settled by news that troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande had agreed a plan to repay interest on one of its key bonds, for now avoiding a default that many fear could hammer the domestic and global economy.However, confidence remains at a premium as traders await a crucial meeting of the Federal Reserve, where it could announce a timetable to start tapering its vast monetary easing programme.That comes against the ever-present backdrop of spiking coronavirus infections and slowing global growth, as well as a brewing battle over the US debt ceiling that, if not resolved, could see a default in the world's top economy, potentially sparking anothe...
September 22, 2021 at 2:25 pm | Economic Affairs
MANILA: 22 Sep.— Asian Development Bank lowered its 2021 economic growth outlook for developing Asia, amid continuing concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.However, ADB said recovery was underway in "developing Asia", referring to the bank's 46 members, including China and India, but growth was revised down to 7.2% from 7.3% projected in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report released in April.The bloc's combined economy was projected to expand 5.4% next year, compared with the April forecast of 5.3%."Asia and the Pacific's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, although the path remains precarious amid renewed outbreaks, new virus variants, and an uneven vaccine rollout," ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawa...
September 22, 2021 at 9:33 am | Economic Affairs
EA ReportKarachi: Sep. 20 — The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has increased the key interest rate by 25 basis points following alarming yet highly anticipated levels of Current Account (CAD)Policymakers seek to find a balance between Pakistan's economic growth and its bulging trade deficit while taming inflationary pressures.SBP previously increased the interest rate in July 2019, when it took it to the maximum level of 13.25%. and gradually reduced the key rate, eventually bringing it to 7% in June 2020 and maintaining it in the next six monetary policy announcements.The interest rate now stands at 7.25%.Earlier, some market participants said they expected the central bank to maintain the key intere...
September 20, 2021 at 5:31 pm | Economic Affairs
EA Report.Lahore : 20 Sep. — Only a single trading house showed its interest to participate international tender of buying 200,000 tonnes of sugar from Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) Monday, officials confirmed.No purchase of the white sugar sought has yet been reported, except Dreyfus trading house for 50,000 tonnes instead of 200,000 tonnes.Whereas, on the other hand, the offer of $670.00 a tonne c&f, was said to have been made, they said.Prices were sharply up from the $637.10 tonne c&f Pakistan paid in its last sugar purchase reported on Aug. 31. On Sept. 16, white sugar futures hit their highest level in 4-1/2 years on signs that global demand might be picking up, coupled with concerns about supplies from top producer...
September 20, 2021 at 2:48 pm | Economic Affairs
EA ReportKARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is unveiling its monetary policy today (Monday) for the next two months.The Monetary Policy Committee of SBP scheduled to meet on Monday at SBP Karachi to review the performance of key economic indicators and decide about the Monetary Policy. Later on, SBP will issue the Monetary Policy Statement.The committee in its last meeting held on 27th July 2021, decided to maintain the policy rate at 7 percent to support economic growth. The growth projected to rise from 3.9 percent in FY21 to 4-5 percent this year.And Economic recovery was expected to be accompanied by external stability by SBPHowever, the MPC has already said that it will carefully monitor the developments affecting medium-term p...
September 20, 2021 at 10:22 am | Economic Affairs
ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday upheld the decision of the Banking Mohtasib in three similar cases, wherein it had ordered the banks to credit the lost money to their account holders in fraudulent digital transactions. The complainants Najma Sultana, a retired teacher and widow; Zahid Shah, a technician of Pakistan Air Force and Tariq Mehmood Chaudhry, a semi-literate person, had filed petitions with the Banking Mohtasib against Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) and United Bank Ltd (UBL) on inadvertent transactions of Rs 300,000, Rs 750,000 and Rs 250,000 from their accounts, respectively.In their pleas, the complainants had maintained that they had never requested for activation of the Internet Banking Facility (IB...
September 19, 2021 at 5:05 pm | Economic Affairs
Karachi (PR): JS Global Capital Limited (JSGCL), Pakistan’s leading equity brokerage and investment banking firm is organizing a business and investment conference titled ‘Pakistan Investment Conference 2019 (PIC-2019)’. This consultation is the fourth of its kind organized by JSGCL and is continuing till 6th September in Washington. These sessions showcase Pakistan’s economic growth and business potential amongst leading global investors to attract foreign direct and portfolio investment. Furthermore, by strengthening policy level engagement, the delegation strives to improve economic ties between the two nations. The high-powered delegation is be led by the Governor Sindh, Imran Ismail and includes Pakistan’s Ambassador at La...
September 5, 2019 at 2:34 pm | News Desk
BY: FAIZ PARACHA The power generation in February 2019 went down by 6 percent year-on-year to 6.4 billion units – lowest in 24 months. The power demand has slowed down considerably, evident from three consecutive months of year-on-year drop in power generation. There have only been four such instances in the last 36 months. All this while, the power generation capacity has soared to nearly 31000 MW – up 6000 MW from a year ago. Hydel generation is back to the fold, constituting the biggest share of 23 percent in the generation mix – up from just 6 percent last month. Hydel’s gain is furnace oil’s loss. These two sources have shown the strongest correlation in the recent months. The load falls on FO the moment there is a...
March 20, 2019 at 3:04 pm | News Desk
The two-day long ‘Leaders in Islamabad Business Summit’ successfully concluded at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad. Over 50 international delegates participated in the event, and through various panel discussions, shared their ideas on a wide range of subjects, including, “The geo-political backdrop”, “The future of work”, “The future of diversity and inclusion”, “Future world, through responsive leadership”. The national and international delegates, and honorable guests included Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Federal Minister for Finance & Economic Affairs, Asad Umar, Federal Minister & Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Investment and Industries & Prod...
March 15, 2019 at 6:10 pm | News Desk
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s finance ministry on Friday cautioned investors about the risks of trading in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying digital currency investments are like “Ponzi schemes.” Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and have no regulatory permission or protection in the country, the finance ministry said in a statement, but stopped short of announcing an outright ban or imposing any curbs. Investors and other participants dealing with such digital currencies are doing so “entirely at their risk and should best avoid participating therein,” the statement said. “There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes”, with investors risking a sudden and prolon...
January 1, 2018 at 12:56 pm | News Desk
2017 started off looking bright, but then turned into a dark year for Pakistan’s economy. Usman Hayat The year 2017 started on a positive note. Economy was growing, inflation was low, the rupee was stable, CPEC was progressing, Pakistan’s credit rating had improved, and the stock market was racing. There was hope for better times. But then, things took a turn. Political chaos hit the economy, and hit it hard. The chaos gained momentum with the formation of the Panama case JIT in April and then culminated with the Islamabad sit-in by a faction of the religious right in November. The prolonged chaos changed the once hopeful sentiment. The economic narrative shifted to fiscal deficit, trade deficit, rising debt, setbacks for...
January 1, 2018 at 12:33 pm | News Desk
THE recent ATM card skimming incident is a wake-up call for banks in Pakistan to ensure their customer’s data security against all possible threats. The central bank, on its part, has reminded banks of their responsibility to implement all regulations of Payments Card Security (PCS) that it introduced back in June 2016. Habib Bank Ltd, the bank whose depositors’ ATM cards were skimmed, has started compensating the affected customers. And the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is now investigating the matter. Customer data security is one of the biggest challenges that banks the world over face. And all central banks continue to strengthen regulations aimed at preventing a security breach. But Pakistani banks have now become ...
December 12, 2017 at 2:36 pm | News Desk
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate