May, 08(Agencies) — Malaysian palm oil futures extended gains to a fourth consecutive session on Monday, hitting a more than two-week high, as forecasts of a sharper decline in April output triggered supply concerns.The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 66 ringgit, or 1.83%, to 3,667 ringgit ($826.83) a tonne during early trade, hitting its highest since April 20.Malaysia’s palm oil inventories at the end of April are forecast to drop to their lowest level in 11 months as domestic use rises amid flat production, a Reuters survey showed on Friday.April production is seen expanding 0.9% from the month before to a three-month high of 1.3 million tonnes, according to the survey....
May 8, 2023 at 4:34 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 08(Agencies) — Oil rose on Monday on easing U.S. recession fears shifted market focus to tightening supplies, offering support after crude prices registered three straight weekly declines for the first time since November.A healthy U.S. jobs report for April helped oil to climb by about 4% on Friday even though labour market strength could compel the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer.Brent crude was up $1.09, or 1.5%, at $76.39 a barrel by 0823 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.03, or 1.4%, to $72.37. “Oil’s rebound follows energy stocks’ comeback on Wall Street last Friday after the U.S. reported strong job data, which eased concerns about an imminent economic recession,” said CM...
May 8, 2023 at 4:29 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 08(Agencies) — UD dollar was catching its breath op opening week after dropping spree last week, with traders turning their focus to U.S. inflation and bank lending data for the week ahead.Sterling, which hovered at $1.2633, just below an 11-month high hit on Friday, was also in traders’ minds ahead of an expected Bank of England rate increase on Thursday.The euro, which has rallied nearly 16% from September lows, was losing a little bit of momentum at $1.1021 and has struggled to break resistance at $1.11.Yen slipped slightly, reflecting Friday’s move higher in U.S. bond yields that followed strong jobs data.The dollar/yen was last 0.2% higher at 135.05.Last week the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank each raised rat...
May 8, 2023 at 4:20 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 05(E. A Report) ——Pakistan Gold demand modestly improved, registering an increase of 2% to 9.9 tonnes during January-March 2023 against 9.7 tonnes recorded in same period previous year, data compiled by the World Gold Council (WGC) showed on Friday.Demand for the yellow metal registered a decline of 2% as compared to 10.1 tonnes in the previous quarter on a quarterly basis.Development coincides with gold prices in Pakistan having reached record highs, traders said. A tola of gold surged by Rs2,600 to Rs225,300.As per data released by the WGC, global gold demand, excluding over-the-counter (OTC), was 13% lower year-on-year (YoY) basis, at 1,081 tonnes in 1Q23.Inclusive of OTC, total gold demand strengthened 1% YoY to 1,174 tonnes a...
May 5, 2023 at 11:14 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 05(Agencies)—— Pound Sterling jumped to one-year high against dollar on Friday, and to a one-month high against the euro, as traders eyed the Bank of England’s interest rate decision next week.Sterling was up 0.21% at $1.26 on Friday, after reaching $1.263 earlier in the session, the highest since late May last year.The euro was down 0.14% against the pound at 87.49 pence, after earlier falling to 87.42 pence, the lowest since April 6.The pound has received a boost from the US Federal Reserve meeting this week, analysts said, when the central bank raised rates by 25 basis points but signalled that it may stop there.US employment data, out at 1230 GMT on Friday, will provide clues as to the Fed’s likely next move.By contrast, m...
May 5, 2023 at 11:11 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 05(E. A Report)—China-Pakistan Agricultural Corridor (CPAC) project would bring socio-economic development for farmers in Pakistan, says PCJCCIDuring a think tank session held at Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) secretariat, President Moazzam Ghurki stated that the initiative would further pave the way for a new era of collaboration between the two all-weather strategic partners.He said that CPAC was a project of highly significance and would serve as a model for other countries in the region to emulate and reinforce the belief that cooperation and partnership could lead to significant achievements and benefits for all. China pledged to open up its markets for Pakistani agriculture products like rice, f...
May 5, 2023 at 3:29 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 05(Agencies)—Asian currencies ticked up against a weaker dollar on Friday as investor jitters persisted amid fresh turmoil in the U.S. banking sector.U.S. regional banks shares sank overnight on fears of a financial sector crisis. US dollar was last down 0.138% at 101.120.Malaysia's ringgit rose 0.3% on returning from holiday, buoyed by Bank Negara Malaysia's unexpected rate hike on Wednesday and in reaction to the Fed's policy statement signalling that it may pause further interest rate hikes. Most other currencies were slightly up.Stocks in Jakarta .JKSE declined 1.5% even as Indonesia's economy grew faster-than-expected in the first quarter. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 5.03% from a year earlier versus a 4.95% ...
May 5, 2023 at 3:29 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 04(E.A Report) — Pakistani rupee stayed comparatively stable against the US dollar by settling with a marginal improvement of 0.02% during the trading session on Thursday.According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), local currency closed at 283.82, an increase of Rs.0.06.Rupee, last day, registered a marginal gain against US dollar, settling at 283.88 in the inter-bank market.US Federal Reserve interest rates raised was a key development, which was a quarter of a percentage point and signaled, may pause further increases, giving officials time to assess the fallout from recent bank failures, wait on the resolution of a political standoff over the US debt ceiling, and monitor the course of inflation.Unanimous decision lifted the US...
May 4, 2023 at 6:01 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 04(Agencies) — South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah led gains among Asian currencies and regional bonds rallied on Thursday following US Federal Reserve signals of a pause in its aggressive policy tightening cycle.Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point overnight, but an omission from its policy statement marked a change in tone, as it no longer said it “anticipates” further rate increases would be needed.A pause should give Fed officials time and space to assess inflationary trends and ongoing challenges such the fallout from recent bank failures and the political standoff over the US debt ceiling.Rupiah appreciated 0.8% to 14,570 per US dollar, hitting its highest level since June 10, 2022. ...
May 4, 2023 at 6:00 pm | Economic Affairs
May, 03(E. A Report) — Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and the government of Punjab have agreed to join hands for development of sport industry in the province.A joint meeting in this regard was held here Wednesday at SMEDA head office in participation with provincial Secretary Sports.Shahid Zaman and Director General Sports Department Dr. Asif Tufail. From SMEDA, the meeting was attended by Ms. Nadia Jahangir Seth, General Manager Policy Planning and Mr. Javed Afzal, Provincial Chief SMEDA-Punjab. Adnan Mehmood Awan, Deputy Commissioner Sialkot and Sarwar Hanif, Project Director Sports Industry Development Center of SMEDA in Sialkot shared their views online through zoom.Meeting observed that adding modern tec...
May 4, 2023 at 5:58 pm | Economic Affairs
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate