Business

Gold retreats in Pakistan as hopes rekindle on IMF programme’s revival

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Gold price plunges by Rs1,400 per tola in Pakistan.
Price settles at Rs195,600 per tola.
Silver prices in the domestic market remain unchanged.

Gold prices slipped nearly 1% on Wednesday, weighed down by a jump in the rupee and hopes of revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme that could influence the economic scenario.

According to the data released by the All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA), the price of gold (24 carats) plunged by Rs1,400 per tola and Rs1,200 per 10 grams to settle at Rs195,600 and Rs167,695, respectively.

The bargain hunters took advantage of recent losses, but the precious metal’s outlook was still clouded by prospects of further recovery of the rupee against the greenback as optimism regarding the revival of the IMF programme can boost the currency market’s sentiment.

Cumulatively, the yellow metal gained Rs3,800 per tola during the last three sessions; however, the precious commodity snapped its winning streak today.

Meanwhile, silver prices in the domestic market remained unchanged at Rs2,150 per tola and Rs1,843.27 per 10 grams, respectively.

In the international market, gold price rose by $8 per ounce to settle at $1,840 as investors held off on big bets ahead of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting that could offer more cues on its rate-hike path.

“The market focus is on the Fed minutes which will be released later today but if there’s concerns about higher inflation or more persisting inflation scenarios then we could see gold prices potentially facing some headwinds,” Bank of China International analyst Xiao Fu said.

Minutes of the Fed’s latest meeting are due at 1900 GMT on Wednesday. The Fed raised rates by 25 basis points at its Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting, and is expected to raise benchmark rates above 5% by May with a peak seen at 5.347% in July.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising US interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Gold may retest a support of $1,830 per ounce, a break below which could open the way to $1,816, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Business

China Contributes 43 New Foreign Firms to the 6% Growth in SECP Registrations

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has registered 2,617 new firms this year, a 6% increase from 2023, with assistance from the Special Investment Facilitation Council. This increases the overall number of businesses that are registered to 231,111.

Non-profits, trade associations, and public unlisted firms make up 4% of these, while private limited corporations make up 55% and single-member companies 41%. It is noteworthy that 99.8% of the registrations were done online, demonstrating SECP’s attempts to digitise.

Real estate has 237 new businesses, services has 306, and trade has 377 new businesses. These are the main sectors exhibiting growth. While the healthcare and textile industries each had 49 new businesses, the education sector saw 101.

China contributed the most, adding 43 new companies, out of the 61 new companies that were registered as a result of foreign investment.

These recently registered businesses are anticipated to decrease imports, increase domestic production, and contribute to closing the trade deficit.

Business

PSX reaches an all-time high as the KSE-100 Index surpasses 86,000 points.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has achieved a significant milestone, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index has attained an unprecedented peak.

On Tuesday at midday, the index ascended by 788 points, attaining a record high of 86,846 points. Following the ratification of the constitutional amendments, the stock market has increased by 1500 points over a span of two days.

Earlier today, the KSE-100 Index increased by 683 points, attaining a value of 86,741 points, before concluding at this new apex.

The bullish trend was apparent from the commencement of the trading session, with the index rising an additional 555 points to reach 86,612 points throughout the day. The reinstatement of the 86,500-point threshold signifies robust market performance.

Business

In three months, Pakistan’s IT exports increased by 33.54 percent.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

During the first three months of FY 2024-25 (July to September), Pakistan’s IT export remittances hit US$ 876 million, a notable 33.54 percent rise from US$ 656 million during the same period previous year (FY 2023-24).

In a statement, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that the amount of money sent home by the export of ICT services was US$ 292 million in September 2024, a 41.7% increase from US$ 206 million in the same month the previous year.

She stated that efforts to make it easier for businesses to conduct business in the nation are the reason why IT exports are rising and that actions are being taken to increase them.

In response to the Prime Minister’s directions, Shaza Fatima stated that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Pakistan Software Export Board, and the IT industry are dedicated to boosting IT exports with the full assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

A trade surplus of US$ 764 million was recorded by the IT & ITeS sector in the first three months of FY 2024–25, accounting for 87.21 percent of all ICT export remittances.

Over the same period last year, this surplus represents a 36.67 percent gain over US$ 559 million. The services industry as a whole, however, experienced a trade deficit of US$ 699 million during this period.

The largest of all service sectors, ICT export remittances from July to September 2024, were US$ 656 million, followed by “other business services” at US$ 374 million.