Trade deficit jumps 18% to $7.1b

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit jumped 18% to $7.1 billion during the first two months of the fiscal year, as exports grew at half the rate of imports – an amount that is more than double of the expensive $3 billion debt Pakistan raised on Thursday from international capital markets at a profit rate of 7.9%…

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Zverev survives US Open five-set epic

NEW YORK: Top-seeded Alexander Zverev kept his bid for a first US Open title on track with a gritty five-set victory over Quentin Halys, staying the course as a spate of upsets rocked the men’s draw on Thursday. A trio of former women’s champions — Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka — booked third-round…

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PSX closes with modest gains of 400 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Friday on a modestly positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing at around 175,330 points, up almost 400 points, after spending most of the session under pressure. The KSE-100 Index closed at 175,328 points, up 0.24% DoD (+399 points), with 259 million shares traded. Trading activity remained…

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Oil rises as Israel threatens Iran again

Putin hints at peace deal, Tehran adds ships to list of those it will penalise if they cross the Strait NEW YORK: Oil prices rose on Thursday after US strikes on Iran and renewed Israeli threats against Tehran revived concerns about disruption to Middle East supplies, while comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin signalling openness…

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India, Japan set for historic T20I

India and Japan will meet for the first time in international cricket when they face off in a men’s T20I on September 22. The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the match will be played at the Sano International Cricket Ground in Tochigi Prefecture. The contest…

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ANF says Afghan drug network disrupted, 671kg of meth seized

Haul includes 200kg seized at Karachi Port and 471kg recovered during a joint operation in Colombo Drugs recovered by the Anti-Narcotics Force. PHOTO: EXPRESS The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) said it had disrupted a transnational drug trafficking network involved in smuggling Afghan-origin drugs through Pakistan to international markets, resulting in the seizure of 671kg of methamphetamine…

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Consumer confidence falls by 24% to 2-year low

Survey shows country has entered ‘extremely pessimistic territory’ as inflation, unemployment bite Consumer Confidence Index drops 3.42% in survey’s May edition. PHOTO: EXPRESS KARACHI: Consumer confidence in Pakistan has suffered its sharpest single-cycle drop in recent years, with the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) falling 24.4% to 65.3 in the third quarter of FY26, down from…

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