KARACHI, May 27 — Pakistan’s stocks, sovereign bonds and currency were lifted today by growing hopes that the country can unlock funding from the International Monetary Fund after the government’s overnight decision to end a months-old freeze on fuel prices.
Late yesterday the government announced it would hike fuel prices after an agreement with the IMF that included an end to fuel subsidies, allowing the resumption of aid from a US$6 billion package signed with the IMF in 2019. “The market is reacting to the government’s move to withdraw fuel subsidies,” Saad Hashemy, executive director at BMA Capital Management, told Reuters.
Pakistan’s new government, which took charge in April, had been reluctant to remove the fuel price caps, fearing political consequences with elections expected within 16 months. “The removal of fuel subsidies will likely have political consequences in a period where ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan gave the government six days to announce a date for elections or face further protests,” Milo Gunasinghe at JPMorgan said in a note.
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