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AgenciesNew York, Oct 18 — U.S. dollar headed towards its one-year high hit last week on Monday following rising inflation expectations and higher bond yields boosted its appeal against its rivals.Dollar index rose 0.1% to 94.02, edging it back toward last week’s one-year high of 94.563 which was the highest level since September 2020.Sterling also managed to hold on close to steady after hawkish weekend remarks from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey who said policymakers "will have to act" as energy prices drive consumer prices higher.U.S. Treasury yields firmed on Monday, extending a trend in recent weeks with five-year bond yields rising to their highest levels since February 2020 as investors ramped up bets that the U.S. Feder...

October 18, 2021 at 3:25 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesOct.18— Oil prices hit their highest level of years on Monday as demand recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, boosted by more custom from power generators turning away from expensive gas and coal to fuel oil and diesel.Brent crude oil futures rose 63 cents, or 0.7%, to $85.49 a barrel by 0645 GMT, after hitting a session-high of $86.04, the highest price since October 2018.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 95 cents, or 1.2%, to $83.23 a barrel, after hitting a session-high of $83.73, highest since October 2014.Both contracts rose by at least 3% last week.“Easing restrictions around the world are likely to help the recovery in fuel consumption,” analysts from ANZ bank said in a note on Monday, adding that...

October 18, 2021 at 3:22 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesOct. 18— Gold prices edged up on Monday after a steep sell-off in previous session as US bond yields and dollar softened.FUNDAMENTALSSpot gold rose 0.2% to $1,770.26 per ounce by 202 GMT, after slipping 1.6% on Friday.US gold futures were up 0.1% at $1,770.50.Asia Gold: India returns to premiumBenchmark US 10-year Treasury yields eased after rising to a high of 1.5904% on Monday, reducing non-yielding gold's opportunity cost.Treasury yields rose sharply on Friday after data showed US retail sales unexpectedly rose in September which bolstered expectations for sooner-than-anticipated interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.Also supporting bullion, the dollar index slipped 0.6% from last week's 2021 highs, as investors figure ...

October 18, 2021 at 3:21 pm | Economic Affairs

New York, Oct 10. — Newly-appointed Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin insisted that Pakistan's talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have not failed, while accepting that rising inflation is an issue in the country.Addressing a ceremony arranged by Pakistan government on Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) for Overseas Pakistanis in New York, the ex-banker said that inflation could not be controlled without increasing exports.Tarin, currently on a visit to the United States to attend the IMF/World Bank annual meetings and hold policy-level talks on the pending review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), termed the impression of failure of talks with IMF as wrong and said that talks are going on in Washi...

October 18, 2021 at 2:02 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesBeijing, Oct. 18 — China’s economy hit its slowest ebb of growth in a year in third quarter, hurt by power shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and major wobbles in the property market.Data released on Monday showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9% in July-September from a year earlier, the weakest clip since the third quarter of 2020 and missing forecasts.The world’s second-largest economy is facing several major challenges, including the China Evergrande Group debt crisis, ongoing supply chain delays and a critical electricity crunch, which sent factory output to its weakest since early 2020, when heavy COVID-19 curbs were in place.“The domestic economic recovery is still unstable and uneven,” said National Bureau ...

October 18, 2021 at 10:56 am | Economic Affairs

By Ambassador Naghmana Hashmi In this age of technology and space exploration when some nations are spending billions and reaching for the moon, the Mars and the vast unknown beyond in search of habitable places for the mankind, millions of the humans are dying of food shortage on the planet earth. The UN aggregates that approximately one billion people do not get enough to eat on a regular basis. The 16.6% of the world’s population is undernourished. Almost 1 in 10 people in the world falls ill as a result of eating contaminated food and 500,000 die every year. Approximately 70 percent of the global food supply is produced by small farmers, herders and fishermen, yet they are the most vulnerable to food insecurity. Poverty and ...

October 17, 2021 at 11:13 pm | Economic Affairs

Islamabad( Press Release) Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri said that Pakistan-China Relation is based upon mutual goal of regional development and prosperity of masses. He said that Pakistan can learn from their Chinese brethrens that how they empower their challenges as they are leading their people on the path of progress and development. He said that Chinese policies are humane and friendly in the region based upon mutual principles of co-existence and tolerance. He expressed these views during his meeting with Chinese Ambassador in Paksitan Mr.Nong Rong who called on him in Parliament House today. Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri said Gawadar port is an important project of CPEC and in order to take f...

October 15, 2021 at 12:11 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesOct.15 — Oil prices kept on climbing, heading for gains of more than 2% for the week, on increasing signs of robust demand and tighter supplies over the next few months as rocketing gas and coal prices stoke a switch to oil products.Brent crude futures rose 62 cents, or 0.7%, to $84.62 a barrel at 0622 GMT, after picking up 82 cents in the previous session. Front-month prices are set to rise for the sixth straight week, up 2.7% this week.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 56 cents, or 0.7%, to $81.87 a barrel, adding to an 87 cent jump on Thursday. The contract is heading for a 3.2% gain on the week, up for the eighth consecutive week.Analysts pointed to a sharp drop in OECD oil stockpiles, to their lowest leve...

October 15, 2021 at 11:47 am | Economic Affairs

AgenciesBEIJING, Oct15 — China’s energy crisis deepened as fuel prices registered to record highs on Friday following cold weather swept into much of the country and power plants scrambled to stock up on coal.The most-active January Zhengzhou thermal coal futures hit a record high of 1,669.40 yuan ($259.42) per tonne early on Friday. The contract has risen more than 200% year to date.Electricity demand to heat homes and offices is expected to soar this week as strong cold winds move down from northern China. Forecasters predict average temperatures in some central and eastern regions could fall by as much as 16 degrees Celsius in the next 2-3 days.Shortages of coal, high fuel prices and booming post-pandemic industrial demand have spar...

October 15, 2021 at 11:44 am | Economic Affairs

October 12, 2021Islamabad (Press Release) Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood received Mr. Tomas Anker Christensen, Climate Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, here on Wednesday. The Foreign Secretary outlined Pakistan’s perspective on addressing the critical issue of Climate Change. He highlighted the various steps taken by Pakistan to tackle Climate Change at the national level including through the Eco-System Restoration Initiative, 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project, Electric Vehicle policy, and transition towards clean and renewable sources of energy.  Potential areas of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Denmark were also discussed during the meeting in order to forge structured engagement between ...

October 13, 2021 at 11:05 am | Economic Affairs

AgenciesWashington, Oct. 13 — U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Tuesday to a Senate-passed bill, temporarily raising the government’s borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion, putting off the risk of default at least until early December.Democrats, who narrowly control the House, maintained party discipline to pass the hard-fought, $480 billion debt limit increase by 219-206. The vote was along party lines, with every yes from Democrats and every no from Republicans.President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure into law this week, before Oct. 18, when the Treasury Department has estimated it would no longer be able to pay the nation’s debts without congressional action.Republicans insist Democrats should take respon...

October 13, 2021 at 11:03 am | Economic Affairs

AgenciesBEIJING, Oct,—— China will further liberalise pricing for coal-fired electricity and force industrial and commercial power consumers to buy from the market in its latest attempt to deal with an energy crisis that could cripple its economy this winter and into next year.National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on Tuesday, that effective on Oct. 15, all electricity generated from coal-fired power will be priced via market trading, and that commercial users will have to buy direct from the market or via agents over the grid “as soon as possible”.A widening power crunch in China has forced production curbs across industries such as cement, steel and aluminium as power producers, unable to pay sky-rocketing...

October 12, 2021 at 11:11 pm | Economic Affairs

EA ReportLahore, Oct. 12 — KSE-100 index started Tuesday on a slightly positive note and experienced a bearish session amidst low volumes, plunged by 648pts amidst low volumes later.Market experts recommend to trade with a cautious approach. Experts expect short term bounces that should be used to reduce buying positions.The local bourse posted a low of 759pts and recorded a loss of 648pts to settle at 43,829pts level. Trading volumes slightly increased by 89Mn shares compared with previous day’s tally of 66Mn shares.Currently the MACD is bearish since it is trading below its signal line. The MACD crossed below its signal line 30 trading sessions ago. Since the MACD crossed its moving average, the local bourse has decreased 7.47%, and ...

October 12, 2021 at 9:19 pm | Economic Affairs

Lahore – Oct. 12 – Infinix has announced pre-orders of the next-generation Zero X Pro and Zero X Neo.According to announcement, it is available for the smartphone enthusiasts and lovers of the innovative smartphone tech.Announcement says The new Zero X series available for pre-orders from the 11th of October, starting from Rs. 32,999 with an exclusive gift on XPark.Opening a new world of tech-enabled sharing and communication, designed to elevate the everyday living of customers, the new devices come dotted with new features keeping the brand DNA centralized, announcement claimsIt says much evolved from its predecessors and all other existing smartphones that have seen the light of the day, Zero X series is revolutionary, to say the le...

October 12, 2021 at 9:16 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesSINGAPORE: Two-year Treasury yields hit to a more than 18-month high on Tuesday as investors sold US debt, reckoning that surging energy prices would fuel inflation and add to pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.Prices for gas, coal, oil and other commodities have soared in recent weeks, and there is growing evidence that costs are flowing through supply chains.At the resumption of trade in Asia, after Monday's Columbus Day holiday in the United States, two year yields rose 3.6 basis points to 0.3560%, before easing a little bit to 0.3497%.That extended the sell-off in two-year Treasuries to a sixth consecutive session.The yield was at its highest since late March 2020, when investors sold debt in the days after...

October 12, 2021 at 12:14 pm | Economic Affairs

AgenciesOct.12– Oil prices edged down Tuesday, dropping for the first time in four days, analysts called a breather after weeks of gains fuelled by a rebound in global demand that is contributing to energy shortages in major economies.Power prices have risen to records in recent weeks, driven by energy shortages in Asia, Europe and the United States. Soaring natural gas prices are also encouraging power generators to swap the cleaner-burning fuel for oil.Brent crude was down 6 cents at $83.59 a barrel at 0440 GMT, after touching three-year highs on Monday on the way to a 1.5% advance.U.S. oil fell 13 cents to $80.39 a barrel, having also gained 1.5% in the previous session, in which it reached the highest in around seven years.“There i...

October 12, 2021 at 12:13 pm | Economic Affairs