Business

Gold regains some lustre as uncertainty takes toll on rupee

Published

3 years ago

Farwa

Gold price rises by Rs500 per tola.
Per tola rate settles at Rs144,500.
Silver prices remain unchanged.

KARACHI: Gold firmed on Thursday as the prospect of aggressive policy tightening by major central banks weighed on the non-interest-bearing metal’s appeal, while investors awaited European Central Bank’s policy announcement.

According to All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association (ASSJA), gold prices in the local bullion market rose by Rs500 per tola to reach Rs144,500, while the price of 10 grams of gold increased by Rs428 to reach Rs123,885.

A day earlier, the precious commodity closed at Rs144,000 per tola and Rs123,457 per 10 grams.

Gold remains as sensitive as ever to international banks rate hikes and as Pakistan remains a small market for gold at the global level therefore the price for local markets is determined keeping in view its prices in world markets, the rupee-dollar exchange rate and its demand and supply in local markets.

In the international market, bullion prices plunged by $26 per ounce to settle at $1,682 — falling below $1,700 due to policy rate concerns.

Gold rates in Pakistan are around Rs2,500 below the cost compared to the rate in the Dubai market.

Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs1,580 per tola and Rs1,354.60 per 10 grams today.

Business

Robust activity lets PSX climb above 115,000 level again.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

On Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) resumed its upward trend, crossing 115,000 points once more.

The PSX had strong action in the morning session, as the KSE-100 index increased by 1,000 points to 115,138.

The notoriously volatile PSX closed Thursday at 114,037 points, up 594 points.

DOLLAR DEPRECIES

Meanwhile, in the interbank market this morning, the US dollar fell 7 paisas to Rs278.65 against the Pakistani rupee.

Business

SBP will announce monetary policy on January 27.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will release its monetary policy on Monday.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SBP will convene on the first day of the following week to make decisions on monetary policy.

The Monetary Policy decision will be announced by Governor SBP Jameel Ahmad at a news conference on the same day after the MPC meeting, according to an official release.

In December, the central bank reduced policy rates by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 percent.

“In November 2024, headline inflation fell to 4.9 percent year on year, meeting the MPC’s estimates. This decrease was mostly caused by the ongoing decline in food inflation and the phasing out of the impact of the gas tariff increase in November 2023,” SBP stated in an official release.

“However, the Committee noted that core inflation, at 9.7 percent, is proving to be sticky, while consumer and business inflation expectations remain volatile.” To that end, the Committee restated its previous assessment that inflation may remain volatile in the short term before stabilizing within the target range.

“At the same time, growth prospects have slightly improved, as evidenced by a recent increase in high-frequency indicators of economic activity.” Overall, the Committee concluded that its approach of gradual policy rate decreases is keeping inflationary and external account pressures under control while promoting long-term economic growth.

Business

Finance Minister Meets With World Leaders at World Economic Forum in Davos

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

During his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has met with officials of organisations and leaders of many nations.
Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor, Muhammad Younas, met with Mohammad Aurangzeb.
On the fringes of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2025 Opening Banquet, there was an informal meeting.
Additionally, the Finance Minister met with Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Both leaders discussed economic cooperation and bilateral ties.
Muhammad Aurangzeb also had a meeting with Dp World’s Rizwan Soomro and Yuvraj Narayan.
They talked about how to strengthen Pakistan’s logistics and infrastructure systems to support trade.
“The Pakistani government is committed to advancing joint projects and values partnerships in both business-to-business and business-to-government cooperation,” the finance minister added.