Inflation hit a record high of 31.5 percent in February (Photo File)
Karachi: Last month (in March), the inflation rate hit an all-time high of 35.4 percent.
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate was at the highest level of 31.5 percent in February 2023, after which it further increased to the highest level of 35.4 percent in the following month (in March). It should be noted that the inflation rate was 12.7 percent in the month of March last year.
Rupee weaker against other currencies this week
This week too, the rupee weakened further against other currencies. According to the weekly currency report, the dollar continued to advance due to volatility due to external payments pressures and the pound and euro were higher due to the uncertain direction of the economy, political turmoil.
According to market sources, the dollar rose to the level of 287 rupees in the open market this week, while the value of the dollar increased by 60 paise to close at the level of 283.79 rupees in the interbank market. In the open market, the dollar rose by Rs 1 to close at Rs 287.
Similarly, the interbank rate of the British pound increased by Rs 4.01 to Rs 351.66 and in the open market increased by Rs 5 to Rs 353. The value of the Euro rose by Rs 4.38 to Rs 309.38 in the interbank market and by Rs 6 to Rs 311 in the open market.
This week too, difficulties in playing import LCs continued. The looming threat of default continued to put pressure on the rupee, while hopes for financing guarantees from Saudi Arabia and other friendly countries limited the dollar’s extraordinary advance.
Limited bullishness in the stock market
In the current business week, there was a limited boom in the stock market due to the green signals of Saudi Arabian financing, however, the market remained volatile due to political chaos, lack of IMF agreement.
Investors remained cautious due to fears of another 2% interest rate hike this week. Oil, gas, OMCs, banking and other sectors were under sell. The index quickly regained its psychological threshold of 40,000 points. The week was bearish in 2 sessions and bullish in three sessions.
The value of the shares in the market quickly increased to 61 crore 62 lakh 12 thousand 51 rupees and the total capital also increased to 61 trillion 8 billion 16 crore 99 lakh 41 thousand 180 rupees. The 100 index rose 58.78 points to close at 40000.83 while the 30 index gained 114.29 points to close at 14852.81.
In the stock market, the KMI 30 index rose 560.16 points to close at 69337.93. As the dollar crisis persisted, there was a trend towards short-term investment, while long-term investment was avoided as inflation reached high levels. The trend of day trading continued in the market. Every sector, including institutions, prioritized profit-taking as it boomed. Due to shrinking economic activities, import restrictions have limited market activity.
(function(d, s, id){
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3&appId=770767426360150”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.7”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));