Business

October inflation eases to 23.8% in Pakistan

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Inflation number is in line with Ministry of Finance’s outlook.
On a monthly basis, inflation moderates to 0.8% in November.
Going forward, economist expects inflation to come down further.

ISLAMABAD: The inflation rate eased to 23.8% last month compared to October’s record high inflation of 26.6% in line with the Ministry of Finance’s monthly outlook as the high base effect kicked in.

The latest inflation bulletin from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) also showed that the pace of price hikes also slowed down to 21.6% and 27.2% in urban and rural areas; however, the constant double-digit inflation in the country has adversely affected people’s purchasing power.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation moderated to 0.8% in November, compared to a whopping increase of 4% in the previous month and 3% in November 2021.

Economist Sana Tawfiq, while speaking to Geo.tv, cited a lower jump in food prices as a significant reason behind this month-on-month decline.

“Reasons for month-on-month moderation was lower jump in food prices with food index up meagre 0.1%, also transportation was down 0.1%.

“On the contrary; housing, clothing and household equipment indices were up monthly basis mostly showing a jump in winter-related items such as woollen garments and dry fruits,” she added.

The Ministry of Finance in its monthly outlook report had mentioned that inflationary pressure was expected to ease marginally in November due to smooth domestic supplies, unchanged energy prices and a stable exchange rate.

The prices of both non-perishable increased last month. The food group prices surged nearly 28.92% in November in comparison with the same month a year ago. The PBS data, however, showed that the prices of perishable food items decreased by 0.27%.

On a year-on-year basis, the pace of food inflation eased to 29.7% in cities and declined to 33.5% in villages and towns last month, according to PBS.

Non-food inflation dropped to 16.4% in urban areas and 21.4% in rural areas compared to the same month last year, according to the national data collecting agency.

Core inflation — calculated after excluding food and energy goods — eased to 14.6% in urban areas. However, it increased to 18.5% in rural areas. Tawfiq expressed concern over elevated core inflation as the economist believes higher core inflation is “alarming”.

“We expect headline inflation to come down further going forward, supported by high base,” Tawfiq predicted.

Price of essential kitchen items

The prices of onions — an essential vegetable used in all households — were higher by over 34% last month compared to September, followed by a 14.79% increase in the rates of tea, and nearly 14.5% in various the price of potatoes and dry fruits, according to the PBS.

However, the prices of vegetables decreased in a range of 10-30%, chicken by 5.08%, and rates of various pulses by over 5%, according to PBS.

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.