Business

Rupee registers handsome losses in pre-monetary policy session

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

In interbank market, rupee fell 2.01 or 0.93%.
The local unit closes at 216.66 against dollar.
Rupee fell 0.31% against greenback last week.

KARACHI: The Pakistan rupee lost ground against the US dollar Monday ahead of the monetary policy announcement — scheduled for today — and the speculations surrounding the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In the interbank market, the rupee fell 2.01 or 0.93% against the dollar to close at 216.66, down from Friday’s close of 214.65, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The greenback traded at 213-214 during the outgoing week. It closed at 213.98 per dollar on Monday and finished at 214.65 on Friday. The rupee fell 0.31% against the greenback last week.

Economist and former adviser to the federal ministry of finance Dr Khaqan Hassan Najeeb said the local unit slipped by Rs2 against the dollar due to political developments and the strengthening of the dollar internationally.

“But we also know the economic situation remains challenging. SBP reserves are weak at $7.8 billion — hardly enough for over a month of imports,” he said.

Non-oil imports are curbed by SBP by rationing the opening of letter of credit (LC), the economist said, adding that oil is already in excess, so oil imports are low.

“Point being, we are operating in a restricted environment, and there would be import needs piling up.”

Getting flows including IMF money, multilateral and bilateral monies, and new foreign direct investment (FDI) is essential to normalise the balance of payments.

“Of-course exports drop and remittance slowdown in July must be looked at carefully.”

Talking to The News, a trader said that apart from forex inflows and outflows, the monetary policy decision will be instrumental to gauge the rupee’s future direction.

Another factor that weakened the rupee was a shortage of greenback in the open market, which moved up the rate of the interbank price of the dollar as well.

The government lifted a ban on the import of non-essential and luxury goods to meet a condition of the IMF ahead of the board’s meeting later this month to revive the loan programme.

However, it announced the imposition of heavy duties on completely built units cars, mobile phones, and electronic appliances to discourage imports.

The market will also evaluate the impact of opening up luxury imports on the rupee, according to traders.

The foreign currency reserves have started to recover. The foreign reserves held by the central bank slightly increased by $67 million or 0.9% to $7.9 billion as of August 12.

Business

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

Published

14 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

14 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.