610 stories · Page 11 of 21
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday held consultations with representatives of the insurance sector and mutual fund industry as part of the government's pre-budget engagement process ahead of the Federal Budget 2026-27. The meetings are part of a structured outreach effort to incorporate private sector feedback into the upcoming budget framework.
Pakistan's HBL Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for April fell to 49.9, slipping just below the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction, with analysts attributing part of the deterioration to the disruptive effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict on supply chains, energy prices, and export order flows. The PMI, compiled through surveys of manufacturing sector purchasing managers, captures real-time changes in output, new orders, employment, supplier delivery times, and input costs.
A diverted transshipment vessel has docked at Gwadar Port, marking a notable development in the port's evolving status as a regional trade hub and reinforcing the strategic rationale behind continued investment in its facilities and connectivity infrastructure. Officials described the docking as evidence of growing commercial confidence in Gwadar as a viable transshipment alternative in the regional maritime network.
Nine coal miners have died following an explosion at a mine in Colombia, in one of the deadliest industrial accidents to strike the Latin American nation's mining sector this year. Rescue teams were deployed to the site as emergency response operations were mounted in the aftermath of the blast.
The KSE-100 Index slipped approximately 300 points on Tuesday as heightened volatility gripped Pakistan's equity market amid the intensifying US-Iran military conflict in the Gulf. Investor sentiment turned cautious as regional geopolitical risks rose sharply, prompting selective offloading across key sectors.
Italian banking group UniCredit has reported record quarterly profits while simultaneously launching a formal bid to acquire Germany's Commerzbank, in a move that could reshape the European banking landscape. The dual announcement underscores the lender's aggressive expansion strategy under its current leadership.
The US dollar firmed in early Tuesday trading while the Japanese yen held steady as escalating fears over Middle East conflict drove investors toward traditional safe-haven assets. Currency markets reflected broad caution, with risk-sensitive currencies under pressure as geopolitical uncertainty overshadowed economic fundamentals.
India is actively exploring measures to attract dollar inflows as its currency comes under sustained depreciation pressure, with sources indicating that policymakers in New Delhi are evaluating a range of instruments including sovereign bond market access measures, NRI deposit scheme enhancements, and potential interventions to bolster foreign exchange reserves. The rupee's slide has been amplified by the combination of elevated oil import costs driven by the Middle East conflict and broader emerging market currency stress as investors price in a prolonged period of global uncertainty.
United States equity markets traded in mixed territory as investors continued to absorb the implications of the latest surge in global oil prices, driven by escalating Middle East conflict and mounting concerns over supply route security through the Strait of Hormuz. The uneven market performance reflects divergent sectoral responses, with energy stocks benefiting from higher crude benchmarks while airlines, consumer discretionary, and transport-heavy indices faced headwinds from elevated fuel cost projections.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a high-level review meeting on Monday to assess Pakistan's current petroleum, oil, and lubricants stock position, signalling official concern over the country's fuel supply buffer amid regional volatility. The meeting brought together senior officials from the energy and petroleum sectors to evaluate national POL inventory levels, supply chain stability, and contingency arrangements in light of evolving developments in the broader Middle East region.
Altern Energy Limited has formally terminated its key power purchase and implementation agreements with the Government of Pakistan and the Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed, a development that signals deepening distress in the country's independent power producer sector. The company's decision to end these agreements reflects the mounting contractual and commercial disputes between private power producers and state energy entities that have plagued Pakistan's electricity sector.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange recorded a sharp intraday rally on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index climbing 4,000 points during morning trade, reflecting a decisive shift in investor sentiment after weeks of market volatility tied to regional geopolitical tensions. Bulls dominated proceedings from the opening bell, with broad-based buying observed across key sectors including banking, energy, and cement.
India has resumed wheat exports after a four-year suspension, capitalising on a bumper domestic crop that has eased food security concerns and generated exportable surpluses. The resumption marks a significant shift in global wheat supply dynamics, as India is among the world's largest producers of the staple grain.
The federal government has directed all ministries to surrender unspent budgetary allocations as the fiscal year approaches its close, a standard but consequential end-of-year exercise that carries heightened significance given Pakistan's ongoing IMF programme commitments. The directive, issued through the Finance Division, requires ministries to identify undisbursed development and current expenditure and remit balances to the consolidated fund.
The United Arab Emirates is navigating a complex and increasingly fractious relationship with OPEC as it pursues independent oil production strategies that diverge from cartel quotas, generating friction within the alliance and raising questions about the bloc's long-term cohesion. Abu Dhabi has been expanding its production capacity through ADNOC, signalling an intent to maximise output and market share as it hedges against the long-term decline of fossil fuel demand.
British exports to the United States have registered a marked decline as American tariffs imposed under the Trump administration's trade policy begin to bite across key sectors. Official trade data shows a contraction in goods flows from the UK to its largest single-country export market, with manufacturing and consumer goods among the hardest-hit categories.
ExxonMobil has reported a significant decline in net income, with the company attributing the shortfall in part to disruptions to oil output caused by the ongoing conflict involving Iran. The results reflect broader turbulence in global energy markets as the Iran war continues to create supply-side uncertainty in the Middle East, a region central to ExxonMobil's upstream operations and global pricing dynamics.
Pakistan's external accounts have grown increasingly dependent on Gulf Cooperation Council states, with the latest analysis highlighting a structural concentration of remittance inflows, bilateral financing, and trade credit from the region. The trend reflects both the depth of Pakistani labour migration to the Gulf and Islamabad's sustained reliance on bilateral support from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar to manage balance-of-payments pressures.
A US Attorney has stated that the future direction of an investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will depend on the findings of an inquiry by the Federal Reserve's Inspector General. The statement confirms that a formal investigative process is underway into the Fed chairman, a development that has drawn significant attention from financial markets and legal observers.
Pakistan's listed corporate sector has recorded strong growth in profitability, according to figures released on Sunday, providing a positive indicator for investor sentiment and broader economic momentum as the country continues its recovery from years of fiscal strain. The profit expansion reflects improved operating margins across key sectors including banking, energy, and consumer goods, driven in part by falling inflation, a more stable rupee, and a gradual reduction in the cost of borrowing following State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts.
The Asian Development Bank has announced a $70 billion initiative aimed at boosting cross-border electricity trade and expanding broadband internet access across the Asia-Pacific region. The programme represents one of the most ambitious multilateral infrastructure commitments in recent years, targeting both energy connectivity and digital inclusion for member economies.
Pakistan is taking concrete steps toward establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets, with officials confirming that work is underway to create legally defined parameters for cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, and related financial instruments operating in the country. The move follows growing pressure from the financial sector and international investors for regulatory clarity, with Pakistan's informal cryptocurrency market having expanded significantly in recent years despite operating in a legal grey zone.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed relevant authorities to operationalise Pakistan's virtual assets regulatory system at the earliest, signalling the government's intent to bring the country's nascent crypto and digital asset sector under a formal global-standard oversight framework. The directive was issued during a high-level meeting in which the prime minister reviewed the progress of regulatory architecture being developed for virtual assets.
An International Monetary Fund official has cautioned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East poses material downside risks to regional economic growth, and has specifically called on Pakistan to press ahead with its reform agenda to insulate itself from external shocks. The warning underscores the IMF's concern that prolonged instability in the Middle East could suppress oil trade flows, elevate global commodity prices, and dampen remittance inflows into vulnerable economies such as Pakistan, which relies heavily on worker remittances from Gulf states.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed that an effective regulatory framework for Pakistan's virtual assets sector must be made fully operational at the earliest, underscoring the government's commitment to bringing digital financial instruments under a structured oversight regime. The Prime Minister made the remarks during a meeting with Minister of State and Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, Bilal bin Saqib, who briefed him on the authority's progress and the regulatory roadmap ahead.
A petition has been moved before the Federal Cabinet Committee challenging the government's recent decision to sharply increase prices of petrol and diesel, in what appears to be a legal and procedural pushback against the fuel pricing move. The filing signals growing institutional and public concern over the scale and timing of the hike.
Pakistan's Consumer Price Index inflation registered at 10.9 percent in April 2026, according to official data released on Friday, reflecting persistent price pressures despite easing in some commodity categories. The reading signals that inflation, while having moderated from the peak levels recorded in 2023 and 2024, remains well above the State Bank of Pakistan's medium-term target band, complicating the central bank's monetary easing trajectory.
A National Assembly standing committee has approved the Netting of Financial Arrangements Bill 2025, advancing legislation that would provide a formal legal framework for netting agreements in Pakistan's financial sector. The approval moves the bill closer to full parliamentary enactment.
Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited has successfully closed a USD76 million financing facility for the acquisition of Attock Cement, marking one of the larger Islamic finance-structured corporate transactions in Pakistan's industrial sector in recent memory. The deal demonstrates continued appetite for leveraged acquisitions in the country's cement industry despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.
Pakistan and China have signed a series of bilateral commercial agreements covering machinery imports, vaccine supply, and medical technology, according to reports published Friday. The deals mark a further deepening of economic ties between the two countries under the broader framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and ongoing bilateral trade cooperation.