Business

Pakistan’s remittances fall 9.5% to $2bn in February

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Workers’ remittances increase by 4.9% month-on-month.
Remittances for July-Feb FY2023 drop 10.8% to $17.99bn.
Highest remittance inflows sent by Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia.

Remittances sent home by overseas workers dropped 9.5% to $2 billion in February 2023, year-on-year, as exchange rate fluctuations, economic uncertainties, and lack of trust in the system continued to encourage the use of illegal channels.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday, remittances stood at $2.2 billion in the same month of the previous year.

On the other hand, month-on-month, these inflows increased by 4.9% compared to $1.9 billion recorded in January 2023.

Workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of US$2.0 billion during Feb 23. For details see https://t.co/rPOvn9CTjf https://t.co/7XBd4uNES4 pic.twitter.com/vcQ6cZR1yU
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) March 10, 2023

Remittances for the first eight months (July-February) of the fiscal year 2022-23 were recorded at $17.99 billion, showing a fall of 10.8% compared to $20.18 billion in the same period of FY2022.

A breakdown shows the highest amount of remittances during February 2023 was mainly sent home from Saudi Arabia ($454.6 million), followed by the United Arab Emirates ($324.0 million), the United Kingdom ($317.0 million) and the United States of America ($219.4 million).

The SBP-held foreign exchange reserves rose above the $4 billion mark after the cash-strapped nation received a $500 million loan from a Chinese bank.

The central bank, in its weekly bulletin, said that its foreign exchange reserves have increased by $487 million to $4,301 million as of the week ended March 3, which will provide an import cover of around a month.

The SBP received $500 million last week from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as part of the institution’s $1.3 billion facility, just days after it had received $700 million from the China Development Bank.

Remittances have been thinning out steadily and the trend is likely to press ahead of Ramazan, the holy month of fasting, and Eid-ul-Fitr — the most difficult times for inflation-ravaged citizens — when overseas workers remit large amounts to Pakistan to support their loved ones.

There has been an improvement in dollar supply, but the country needs more liquidity to cope with the demand for imports.

Moreover, closing the gap between the open market and the interbank market is imperative to discourage the wholesale use of unofficial channels.

Given its bare minimum foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan direly required dollar inflows that have not been very steady.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday Pakistan was “very close” to signing a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which would offer a critical lifeline for taming a balance of payment crisis.

An agreement would release $1.1 billion to the cash-strapped South Asian economy.

“We seem to be very close to signing the staff level agreement, hopefully, God willing, in the next few days,” Dar said at a seminar in Islamabad.

“I and my team are absolutely committed to complete this program to the best of our ability,” he said, adding: “We have been in the review and I think it has taken longer than it should have in my opinion.”

Islamabad has been hosting an IMF mission since early February to negotiate the terms of a deal, including the adoption of policy measures to manage its fiscal deficit ahead of the annual budget due around June.

The funds are part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.

Business

An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

Business

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

Published

18 hours ago

Farwa

The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

Business

The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.