The European Central Bank announced the largest rate hike in its history on Thursday and said there were more to come as it scrambles to pull inflation down from record heights. Policymakers lifted the ECB’s key rates by 75 basis points, a leap matched only by a technical move made in 1999 shortly after the central bank’s founding. Eurozone inflation hit a record 9.1 per cent in August, as
While showing no mercy for the inflation-hit consumers, the millers have further jacked up per kg prices by Rs7 in flour no.2.5 and Rs10 in fine and super fine flour (maida). The new rate of flour no.2.5 has been fixed at Rs106 per kg while fine and super fine flour rates are now Rs114 per kg, a miller said, adding that the new rate of 10kg flour bag has been increased to Rs1,065 from Rs995.
The federal government has borrowed record money, over Rs760 billion, from scheduled banks during the first two months of the current fiscal year (FY23). The latest data of the State Bank of Pakistan shows not only the increasing dependence of the government on banks’ money but that the cost of borrowing is also very high. The federal government borrowed Rs760.4bn during July-Aug FY23 from b
Oil prices rose on Friday as investors considered Russia’s threat to halt oil and gas exports to some buyers, but crude was set for a second straight weekly decline as central banks’ aggressive rate hikes and China’s Covid-19 curbs weighed on demand. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $89.42 a barrel by 0330 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 15 cent
Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha on Wednesday said the current account deficit had reached $17 billion in the last financial year. “The current account deficit increased in the last year and we faced this situation,” she told the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. She added that as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme was stalled, other financial institutions wer