Weekly Economic Roundup

March 27, 2022 (MLN): The economic roundup contains the recent economic developments and financial data releases over the course of the week to keep an eye on next week’s trend.

• The weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined consumption group witnessed an increase of 1.10% for the week ended on March 24, 2022.
• The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Friday has recommended four development projects worth Rs352.9 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.
• Under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) framework, Pakistan, during the financial year 2020-2021, has managed to get $2.33 billion debt rescheduled out of total expected debt rescheduling of $3.79bn.
• The production of sugar rose to 7.5 million tons this year, which is 36.3% higher than last year's 5.5mn tons.
• The government on Thursday has increased profit rates by up to 100 bps on National Savings Schemes (NSSs) with effect from March 25, 2022.
• Total disbursement against Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar (MPMG) financing has reached Rs53.1 billion from Dec’20 to Feb’22.
• The total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country dropped by $843.7 million or 3.78% WoW to stand at $21.44 billion during the week ended on March 18, 2022, compared to $22.28bn in the previous week.
• The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) of Pakistan was recorded at 97.91 in February 2022, showing a marginal increase of 0.90% compared to 97.04 recorded in January 2022.
• Power generation increased by 11.1% YoY to 8,088 GWh during February 2022 compared to 7,281 GWh in February 2021, backed by the higher generation from hydel, nuclear, and coal.
• Pakistan and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) signed three Framework Agreements amounting to US$180 million to provide financing for the Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project (MDHP).
• The government raised Rs693 billion through the auction of three, six, and twelve-month T-bills against the target of Rs800bn ad maturity of Rs793bn.
• The banking sector spread for the month of February 2022 increased by 34 basis points (bps) over the month which brings its latest value to 4.61% as compared to the prior month's spread of 4.26%.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300 million loan to further develop Pakistan’s capital markets, promote private investment in the country, and help to mobilize domestic resources to finance sustainable growth.

Copyright Mettis Link News