ISLAMABAD: Pakistan exported goods worth Rs6,393 billion during the first three quarters (July-March) of the current fiscal year (2025-26), a decline of 7.14% compared with Rs6,884 billion in the same period last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In March alone, exports amounted to Rs635.5 billion, down 0.17% from February and 14.21%…
ISLAMABAD: A great power rests on three pillars: military, diplomacy and economy. Pakistan has achieved many milestones on the military and diplomatic fronts. Two recent events further reinforced our strength. First, the decisive victory in Operation Bunyan Marsoos strengthened Pakistan’s credentials as a formidable military power. It elevated Pakistan’s global profile. Countries began to show…
Analysts have estimated a loss of 7 million to 10 million barrels per day of Middle East oil production due to ongoing war. PHOTO: PEXELS Oil prices jumped almost 3% on Monday as peace talks between the United States and Iran stalled and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited, keeping global oil supplies…
STOXX 600 flat as oil and gas index jumps 8%; ECB and Bank of England meetings in focus this week European shares were muted on Monday, as investors prepared for a week packed with central bank meetings, while oil prices rose with United States-Iran peace talks stalling again. US President Donald Trump cancelled a trip…
State Bank of Pakistan. Photo: File In a move that defied market expectations, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced a sharp 100 basis point increase in the policy rate, raising it to 11.5%, effective April 28, 2026. The decision, revealed after the MPC meeting held earlier today, caught analysts off…
Rising diversification in reserves, payments and energy trade signals slow erosion of dollar centrality KARACHI: US global dominance has long rested on two key pillars: the petrodollar system and the US Treasury bond market. In exchange for security guarantees to oil-rich Gulf monarchies, Washington ensured that their oil is priced and sold in dollars and…
Transshipment surges at Karachi Port, clean energy shift gains pace amid ME conflict Components of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG), guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) and French Navy frigate FS Languedoc (D 653) transit the Strait of Hormuz on November 25, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS KARACHI: The US-Iran war and the consequential…
Policy tweaks, particularly shift to net billing, impeding further solar adoption APTMA has been constantly blaming the FBR for its lack of commitment in implementing the agreement it signed with the textile industry regarding the resumption of zero-rated tax regime. PHOTO: FILE FAISALABAD: Pakistan’s textile sector, the backbone of its export economy, is once again…
Islamabad finds itself positioned between much-needed infusion of regional liquidity and looming global energy crisis The government has agreed to the need for a mini-budget if revenues fall short of expectations by end-December 2025, according to the IMF. Photo: file ISLAMABAD: The conclusion of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and…
Govt must let prices reflect costs and replace blanket subsidies with targeted cash support Kerosene oil. ISLAMABAD: When war returns to the Middle East, oil stops being a commodity and becomes a headline. The latest bout of conflict has again injected fear into energy markets, lifted freight and insurance costs, and pushed crude benchmarks upward….