ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan confirmed on Saturday that the government has repaid $2 billion to the United Arab Emirates, part of maturing bilateral deposits that are testing the country’s external financing position even as fresh inflows from Saudi Arabia provide a buffer.
Economy
PM Shehbaz cuts diesel by Rs32.12 to Rs353.43, passing on global oil relief
ISLAMABAD: The government lowered the price of high-speed diesel by Rs32.12 a liter to Rs353.43, passing on the sharp drop in global crude prices triggered by Iran’s decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire.
Pakistan sells $500 million eurobond at 6.95 percent after four-year hiatus
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan sold $500 million of three-year Eurobonds on Friday, its first return to the international capital markets in four years, a day after receiving $2 billion in fresh assistance from Saudi Arabia.
Factory output rebounds for fifth straight month, powered by autos and petroleum
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector expanded 5.89% year-on-year in the first eight months of fiscal 2026, as a sustained rebound in industrial production offset weakness in textiles and steel, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed.
FM Aurangzeb thanks Beijing for IMF backing as Panda bond plans advance
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb thanked China for its “long-standing and unwavering” support for Pakistan’s International Monetary Fund program and praised Beijing’s role in shepherding the country’s latest reviews, the finance ministry said on Friday.
Pakistan signs agreement with Saudi Arabia to extend $3 billion deposit
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Friday to extend the maturity of a $3 billion deposit that the Saudi Fund for Development placed with the State Bank of Pakistan, the finance ministry said.
IMF’s Georgieva backs Pakistan’s program as finance chief lines up panda bond, privatisations
ISLAMAVAD: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised Pakistan’s “continued progress on economic reforms” and the macroeconomic stability achieved under the Fund’s program, capping a week of high-stakes diplomacy by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.
Pakistan posts $1.07 billion current account surplus in March as remittances climb and imports fall
KARACHI: Pakistan recorded a current-account surplus of $1.07 billion in March, the State Bank of Pakistan said Thursday, the third consecutive monthly surplus and one of the strongest monthly readings on record.
Pakistan fires up costly furnace oil plants, delays nuclear work as LNG shortages from Iran war trigger blackouts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is running its furnace-oil power plants at full capacity and postponing scheduled nuclear-plant maintenance to contain the worst electricity shortages in years, after Qatar declared force majeure on liquefied natural gas deliveries amid the Iran conflict.
Pakistan receives $2 billion Saudi deposit as reserves face pressure from $3.5 billion UAE repayment
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia with a value date of April 15, the central bank said Thursday, delivering immediate relief to foreign-exchange reserves strained by a looming repayment to the United Arab Emirates.