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Gold plummets in Pakistan as Geneva moot pledges burst pricing bubble

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  • Gold price plunges Rs3,300 per tola to settle Rs181,800.
  • Analysts had predicted that gold will see black-swan stumble.
  • Silver prices in domestic market rise Rs30 per tola.

Gold prices pared losses on Tuesday after Pakistan received flood aid pledges worth $11 billion at the one-day International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva.

The announcement of inflow pledges burst the pricing bubble of the precious metal which had previously taken advantage of the dollar shortage and rupee depreciation.

Data released by All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA) showed that the price of gold plunged by Rs3,300 per tola and Rs2,829 per 10 grams to settle at Rs181,800 and Rs155,864.

Analysts had already predicted that the yellow metal will see a black-swan stumble as an inflow of $6-8 billion from multilateral and bilateral creditors will burst the pricing bubble in Pakistan.

Earlier, goldsmiths anticipated gold to touch Rs200,000 per tola due to the rupee devaluation against the US dollar under the current cycle. However, they now believe the price will fall below key level of Rs180,000 per tola.

They also mentioned that a majority of the buyers in the local market comprise gold investors these days. Earlier, they were parking their savings in the US dollar to avoid the impact of rupee devaluation at a time of high inflation.

They mentioned that the investors started moving to the bullion market following the shortfall of the dollar in the open market. In the black market, illegal traders were selling the dollar for Rs250-260 compared to Rs227 in the interbank market.

Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market rose Rs30 per tola and Rs25.71 per 10 grams to settle at Rs2,100 and Rs1,800.41.

In the international market, gold prices steadied near an eight-month high scaled in the last session, with cautious traders largely focusing on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming speech for more insight into the US central bank’s rate-hike trajectory. The price settled at Rs1,876 per ounce after a rise of $5.

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

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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.

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

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SBP will announce monetary policy on January 27.

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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.

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

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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.

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