Business

ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, based on the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), rose to a new high of 48.35 per cent for the week ending May 4, official data showed on Friday. However, on a week-on-week basis, the reading increased was 1.05pc, with food items getting costlier, particularly chicken, eggs, flour, wheat products, pulses, fruits, potatoes and meat. The SPI has steadily …

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Friday cleared a total of six projects costing Rs227 billion, mostly in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir, including three larger projects that were referred to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for formal approval. A meeting of the CDWP, presided over by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, approved three …

NEW DELHI: India is considering overturning a ban on foreign investment in its nuclear power industry and allowing greater participation by domestic private firms, two government sources told Reuters, as part of a push for cleaner energy. The measures have been recommended by a government panel, set up by think-tank Niti Aayog which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under …

ROME: The United Nations food agency’s world price index rose in April for the first time in a year but is still some 20 per cent up on a record high hit in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Food and Agri­cul­ture Organisation’s (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, avera­ged 127.2 points last …

GILGIT: A delegation from Gilgit-Baltistan has visited the Tashkurgan town in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China, to discuss matters of mutual interest and sought relaxation on exports to the neighbouring country through Khunjerab Pass. The parliamentary delegation, headed by GB Assembly Speaker Syed Amjad Ali Zaidi and on a five-day visit to Xinjiang, also asked Chinese authorities to …

KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is preparing to discuss Pakistan’s budget plans for the coming financial year as part of a process to unlock a crucial financing injection for the cash-strapped nation, the IMF’s country mission chief said. An IMF review of the budget presents a fresh hurdle before the lender approves the release of pending bailout funds, which …

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $6 million to $4.46 billion during the week ending on April 28, announced the central bank on Thursday. Currency experts believe a meagre fall in SBP reserves helped the exchange rate to remain stable for more than a couple of weeks. However, bankers maintain that the …

Oil prices rose on Friday but were poised for a third straight week of losses after markets registered dramatic drops on fears of a weakening US economy and slowing Chinese demand. Brent crude rose $1.22, or 1.7 per cent, to $73.72 a barrel by 0754 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate was up $1.11, or 1.6 pc, at $69.67 after four …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working with Pakistani authorities to conclude a ninth review of a bailout programme, its mission chief said on Friday of the funding critical for the cash-strapped country to avert an economic collapse. Pakistan and the IMF have been discussing fiscal policy measures under review since February to resume the stalled funding that was due in November from a $6.5 billion …

KARACHI: The government raised Rs705 billion through an auction of market treasury bills despite Rs1.195 trillion bids offered mostly by banks on Wednesday. The bidding trend showed that banks were saturated with liquidity and willing to park maximum in the government papers. The government remained around its target of Rs750bn but the accepted amount was much higher than the maturing …