State of the economy
The first three quarters of 2024-25 have come to an end. This is the appropriate time for reviewing the state of the economy, as the federal and provincial budgets will…
The petroleum levy burden
The Pakistani government’s decision to raise the petroleum levy to Rs80 per litre – via amendments to the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Levy) Ordinance, 1961 – has dashed public expectations of…
China’s growth amid headwinds
The just-concluded annual sessions of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, endorsed the main economic targets proposed by Premier Li Qiang in the Government Work Report, including a GDP…
Poverty may trump low inflation
Inflation has come down dramatically – from 28.3 percent in January 2024 to 1.5 percent in February 2025. The question remains: why isn’t there a feel-good factor? Inflation, economists maintain,…
All eyes on the Fed’s interest rate decision
This week, the market will be closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, which is set to be announced on Wednesday. Attention will particularly be on the Fed’s dot…
Policy rate unchanged
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), met under the chairmanship of the Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on 10 March 2025, and decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at…
Divide between nominal vs real GDP
The consolidated federal and provincial fiscal operations data for fiscal year 2024-25 assumes nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 124,150 million rupees (defined as total market value of goods and…
Beyond inflation: the hidden risks in Pakistan’s economic recovery
Pakistan’s economy is addicted to debt. Lavish government spending, recklessly financed through borrowing has resulted in a precarious debt trap, a depreciated rupee, escalating inflation, and an economy on the…
State of the economy
Information on many of the key macroeconomic variables has become available up to March 2019 and in some cases up to February 2019. Therefore, the trends in the national economy…
A vision for progress and prosperity
As we complete the first year of the PML-N government, it is an opportune moment to reflect on our achievements and reaffirm our commitment to a prosperous future. Under the…
