Business

Gold continues to set new records in Pakistan

Published

3 years ago

Farwa

Gold price rises by Rs300 per tola today.
Precious commodity gains Rs4,000 in last six sessions.
Silver price rises by Rs60 per tola in Pakistan.

KARACHI: Gold has continued to make and break new records since the formation of the new government followed by the ongoing economic crisis.

It hit a fresh all-time high of Rs136,000 per tola (11.66 grams) in Pakistan on Thursday, providing protection to investors from rupee depreciation.

According to the All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association (ASSJA), the price of gold per tola rose by Rs300. Meanwhile, the price rose by Rs257 per 10 grams to settle at Rs116,598.

With the latest increase of Rs300 per tola today, the gold price has surged by a total of Rs4,000 in the last six sessions (Friday-Thursday).

Gold has emerged as a safe asset in these challenging times of the economic crisis. People were aggressively buying gold to protect their cash from deflation.

The drop in the rupee value — which slumped to an all-time low of Rs191.77 against the US dollar in the interbank market — forced the gold trading body to revise up the bullion price significantly as Pakistan meets the local demand for the precious yellow metal through imports.

Earlier, commenting on the rising prices, a gold dealer had said that the metal remains a safe haven against inflation (rupee depreciation and increase in essential commodity prices) and people invest in gold to avoid the impact of the devaluation of the local currency.

He predicted that the gold price will continue to hover at a high level along with the depreciating rupee as the market sees the local currency crossing the critical 200-mark.

However, despite the wedding season, the demand in the market remains subdued due to a lack of purchasing power.

In the international market, the price of yellow metal recorded a decrease of $6 per ounce to settle at $1,846.

Gold rates in Pakistan are around Rs1,000 below the cost compared to the rate in the Dubai market.

Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market rose significantly by Rs60 per tola and Rs51.44 to settle at Rs1,560 and Rs1,337.44 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.