Dubai News TV

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to arrange fresh loans worth $8 billion to support external debt repayments over the next seven months for the completion of the long-stalled 9th review bailout package. A staff-level agreement to release a $1.1 billion tranche out of a $6.5 billion IMF package has been delayed since November 2022 with around 100 days over since the last staff-level mission to Pakistan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3J6Bme59EA   Despite receiving confirmation from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the IMF has asked Pakistan to arrange $8.4 billion in fresh loans for debt repayments for May-December 2023 period to avoid default. The delay in arranging these funds has caused the ninth programme review worth $1.2 billion to remain incomplete. "No more tough decisions" Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, has stated that the government will not make any more tough decisions on IMF’s demand anymo...

The lingering political turmoil has been taking a severe toll on the market sentiments as the Pakistani rupee depreciated a further 3 % to a record 298.93 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed that the Pakistani currency closed at 298.93, another whopping decrease of Rs. 8.9 on the same day Thursday. The rupee had also sustained losses against the US dollar on Wednesday, settling at 290.22 in the inter-bank market. Political turmoil, IMF deal The current political instability and the government’s failure to materialize the much-awaited bailout package deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been cited among the top most reasons for the free-falling rupee against the strong dollar. The arrest of former prime minister and Chairman of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Imran Khan has added fuel to the fire. Analysts say that the IMF has further delayed the bailout package, which...

Pakistan’s inflation hit a record on the back of a badly depreciating currency, skyrocketing food and energy costs, and low growth. The inordinate delay in bailout loans from International Monetary Fund, and the increase in fuel prices may make matters worse. These developments have made Pakistan home to Asia’s fastest inflation, outpacing price gains in Sri Lanka which recorded a 35.3% inflationary increase in April. But now it has started showing signs of recovery from the economic crisis. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that consumer prices surged by 36.4% in April 2023, the highest increase since 1964. Transport prices increased by 56.8% while food inflation rose to 48.1%. Meanwhile, clothing and footwear costs increased by 21.6%, and housing, water, and electricity bills climbed to 16.9%. Inflation to rise On the other hand, Sri Lanka's inflation rate eased to 35.3% in April. The depreciating value of the Pakistani rupee has made imported goods ...