Good Morning
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations on Wednesday underscored their commitment to implementing official bilateral debt relief for the world’s poorest countries through year-end and possibly longer as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has reported that the government raised Rs146.5 billion through T-bills, against the auction target of Rs325 billion. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Wednesday found six mega Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) involved in prevailing shortage of petroleum products across the country. It suggested the Petroleum Division to call an urgent product review meeting (PRM) to review integrated system like stock, import and local production. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday hinted at further steps to shore up finances of private sector amid the coronavirus crisis, keeping lowering inflation under consideration.
Market View: The KSE100 Index lost 6.63 points during Monday’s trading session. We expect the market to remain stable and range bound in the upcoming session.
Commodities:
Brent oil (USD/bbl): 39.37 (-1.06% D/D)
Crude oil (USD/bbl): 36.63 (-1.77% D/D)
Gold (USD/oz): 1,708.10 (+0.1936% D/D)
National News
Poorest countries: Debt relief could extend beyond 2020: G7
WASHINGTON: Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations on Wednesday underscored their commitment to implementing official bilateral debt relief for the world’s poorest countries through year-end and possibly longer as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
SBP raises Rs146.5bn from T-bill auction
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has reported that the government raised Rs146.5 billion through T-bills, against the auction target of Rs325 billion. The SBP conducted the auction for the sale of 3-month, 6-month and 12-month Government of Pakistan Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) and received bids amounting to over Rs772.8 billion.
Ogra finds 6 OMCs involved in shortage
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Wednesday found six mega Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) involved in prevailing shortage of petroleum products across the country. It suggested the Petroleum Division to call an urgent product review meeting (PRM) to review integrated system like stock, import and local production.
State Bank indicates further policy moves amid lowering inflation
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday hinted at further steps to shore up finances of private sector amid the coronavirus crisis, keeping lowering inflation under consideration.
Foreign firms repatriate $1.194bln in 10 months
KARACHI: Outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investments from the country dropped 3.47 percent to $1.194 billion in 10 months of the current fiscal year, mainly owing to limited or stagnant economic activities under a COVID-19 pandemic-led lockdown, central bank data showed on Wednesday.
PSM retrenchment plan approved by ECC: Body set up to work on oil hedging options
ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved retrenchment plan for over 9,000 employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and set up a body to explore various call options for oil hedging.
Sartaj says Covid-19 renders 20 million jobless
LAHORE: “Even before the pandemic, Pakistan had 60 million unemployed. Covid-19 has added an estimated 20 million more,” said former Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz in his comments at an online conference held Wednesday under the aegis of Institute for Policy Reforms.
PM for ensuring impact of reduced fuel prices on commodities’ prices
ISLAMABAD: While taking notice of increase in flour prices and other essential commodities, Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, National Price Monitoring Committee, and the provincial governments to make sure that the impact of reduction of fuel prices must correspondingly reflect in the prices of essential commodities.
CDWP approves 7 projects, recommends one project to ECNEC
ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved seven projects at the cost of Rs24 billion and recommended one project worth Rs11.35 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for consideration.
ECC to decide on Rs20bn plan for hedging of oil imports
ISLAMABAD: The government has called a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday to consider hedging of oil prices and about Rs120 billion worth of funds to finance improvement of western border management and low bill recoveries in the power sector.
Duty drawback raised for finished leather, plastic
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue has raised duty drawback rates on exports of finished leather and plastic goods including packing material.
Dollar continues upward journey
KARACHI: The dollar continued its upward journey against the local currency, raising the uncertainty for the exchange rate and importers. On Tuesday, the dollar was traded as high as Rs166 in the interbank market but fell back to close at Rs164.89 with a gain of 81 paisas.
Cement sales plunge 37.6pc in May
ISLAMABAD: The impact of construction package announced by the government is yet to be seen, as domestic cement uptake declined by a massive 37.63pc to 2.27 million tonnes in May 2020, as compared to 3.64 million tonnes in May 2019.
International News
Oil prices fall on concerns supply to rise as producers wrangle on cuts
Oil prices fell on Thursday, reversing gains in the previous session, on concerns that supply will rise if major producers are unable to agree to extend the depth of output cuts that have supported recent gains.
Gold rises on political frictions, weaker dollar
Gold prices gained from last session’s fall on lingering political tensions and a weaker dollar, but were still near their lowest in over a week as equities were set to extend their gains on economic optimism.
The bond market appears to be signaling the worst is over for the economy
The bond market has caught a tiny bit of the stock market’s optimism, and it’s selling off on the idea that the economy may have hit rock bottom in April.
Asia stocks edge higher as optimism remains over economic recovery from coronavirus pandemic
Stocks in Asia nudged higher in Thursday morning trade as optimism over the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continued to keep investor sentiment afloat.
