Oil prices tumbled about 6%

Oil prices tumbled about 6% to a four-week low on Friday on worries that interest rate hikes by major central banks could slow the global economy and cut demand for energy.

Also pressuring prices, the US dollar this week rose to its highest level since December 2002 against a basket of currencies, making oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Brent futures fell $6.69, or 5.6%, to settle at $113.12 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $8.03, or 6.8%, to settle at $109.56.

That was the lowest close for Brent since May 20 and the lowest for WTI since May 12. It was also the biggest daily percentage decline for Brent since early May and the biggest for WTI since late March.

For the week, Brent futures declined for the first time in five weeks, while WTI dropped for the first time in eight weeks.

There will be no US trading on Monday, the Juneteenth holiday.

"Crude prices tumbled as the dollar rallied, Russia signaled oil exports should increase, and as global recession fears grow," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at data and analytics firm OANDA.

Global central bankers who quickly loosened monetary policy during the pandemic to avoid a recession, are now tightening to fight inflation.

The Federal Reserve this week hiked US rates by the most in more than a quarter of a century.

"With the central banks making pretty substantial moves to limit growth via interest rate hikes and monetary tightening is showing up here in the petroleum complex," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York, noting that slower economic growth should cut energy demand.

With the Fed expected to keep raising interest rates, open interest in WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday to its lowest level since May 2016 as investors cut back on risky assets.

US gasoline and diesel futures also slid over 4% on worries high pump prices will reduce demand.

Automobile group AAA said the price of diesel at the pump hit a record-high $5.798 per gallon on Friday, while the price of gasoline hit a record high of $5.016 earlier in the week.

US energy firms this week added just four oil rigs as President Joe Biden slammed producers for profiting from sky-high prices instead of doing more to boost output.

Even as his administration wants Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, Biden said he was not going to have a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman during his trip to the region next month, and that he was only seeing the Saudi crown prince as part of a broader "international meeting."

Russia, meanwhile, expects its oil exports to increase in 2022 despite Western sanctions and a European embargo, the Russian deputy energy minister said on Friday, according to Tass news agency.

The market's turbulence has certainly increased since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russian gas flows to Europe fell short of demand on Friday as an early heat wave in the south boosted demand for air conditioning.

The European Union's executive body recommended that Ukraine and Moldova become candidates for membership in the world's largest trading bloc.

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Return of Pakistan to the whitelist of FATF is big success:PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the return of Pakistan to the whitelist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a big success.

PM Shehbaz Sharif felicitated the nation and welcomed the announcement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that Pakistan had met all its conditions for exclusion from the grey list.

In a statement, he said, “Praise be to Allah, return of Pakistan to the white list is a big success of Pakistan.”

He congratulated the government institutions, personalities and relevant team and said their joint efforts brought fruit,

He appreciated the performance of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and the team of the Foreign Ministry.

The PM said the efforts of the basic cell related to FATF and of military and civil leadership included in it, were praiseworthy and credit went to them for their work in this national endeavour.

“I pay tribute to the whole team working for the success of Pakistan,” he said adding the statement of FATF was a recognition of the restoration of the international reputation of Pakistan.

“More such good news will be the destiny of Pakistan in future,” he said adding the return of Pakistan to the white list would help in improving the economic and financial situation of Pakistan.

“We are working with the same determination for the economic revival of Pakistan,” he concluded.

Key development
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has acknowledged that Pakistan has “substantially completed its two action plans”, saying that the watchdog will now schedule an on-site visit to verify the implementation of the measures.

However, Pakistan has not been formally removed from the FATF’s grey list. In a statement, the watchdog acknowledged that Pakistan has completed both its action plans, covering 34 items and said this showed the necessary political commitment was in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future.

“The FATF will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation and conduct an on-site visit at the earliest possible date to verify the implementation and sustainability of the country’s money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures,” it added.

The FATF also acknowledged Pakistan continued political commitment to combating both terrorist financing and money laundering, which it said had led to significant progress.

“Pakistan demonstrated that terror financing investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN designated terrorist groups and that there is a positive upwards trend in the number of money laundering investigations and prosecutions being pursued in Pakistan, in line with Pakistan’s risk profile,” it added.

The financial watchdog noted that Pakistan has also largely addressed its 2021 action plan ahead of the set times.

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Police file multiple cases after violence-marred NA-240 by-election

Police have filed multiple cases after one person was killed and several injured in the violence-marred NA-240 by-election.

Three cases have been registered at the Landhi police station, whereas one has been filed at the Korangi police station, police said on Friday.

Among the cases registered at the Landhi police station, a case mentions the name of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal.

According to the FIR, Kamal entered a polling station in Landhi 6 accompanied by 50 to 60 men, and wreaked havoc there.

Another FIR stated that the chaos at the Landhi 6 polling station resulted in the death of one person and injury to several.

It said that clashes broke out when during a TLP rally, several armed men belonging to the TLP opened fire on PSP members.

A passerby, Saifuddin, son of Kalimuddin, was killed in the process.

The FIR said that due to the firing by TLP, deep panic set in among the area's residents.

It further stated that following retaliatory fire by PSP, several people were wounded and are under treatment.

The police cases say that the act of firing by the political parties, that ultimately resulted in a death and multiple injuries, constitutes a crime under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 324 (attempt to commit murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The third case registered at the Landhi police station was filed on the complaint of the presiding officer and includes terrorism related clauses, said police officials.

According to the first information report (FIR), 400-500 people belonging to a political party entered a polling station all at once.

The staff of the polling station were beaten up and election materials damaged, the FIR said.

When the ballot boxes were damaged, the police sprung into action, it further said, adding that the troublemakers were immediately dispersed and the polling process resumed.

The fourth case, registered at the Korangi police station was filed on the complaint of a police officer and includes a riot clause.

According to the FIR, 20-25 men armed with sticks stood outside a polling station set up at a school.

The police raided the polling station and took five men into custody and recovered the sticks, the FIR said.

The stick-wielding men attempted to destabilise law and order, the FIR added.

Yesterday's by-election saw incidents of violence across the constituency, with one person belonging to the PSP killed and several others injured — including ex-MPA Iftikhar Alam, who is also a member of the PSP.

The contest saw the participation of 25 candidates for the seat — a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) — that fell vacant after the death of MQM-P MNA Muhammad Ali Khan this year on April 19.

MQM-P once again emerged victorious with a close margin of 65 votes against rival Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

The MQM-P candidate, Mohammad Abubakar, secured 10,683 votes, while TLP candidate Shahzada Shahbaz bagged 10,618 votes.

Meanwhile, Muhajir Qaumi Movement candidate Syed Rafiuddin secured the third position with 8,349 votes, PPP Nasir Rahim got fourth place after bagging 5,240 votes, and PSP’s Shabbir Kaimkhani grabbed 4,782 votes to stand fifth.

 

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Police file multiple cases after violence-marred NA-240 by-election

Police have filed multiple cases after one person was killed and several injured in the violence-marred NA-240 by-election.

Three cases have been registered at the Landhi police station, whereas one has been filed at the Korangi police station, police said on Friday.

Among the cases registered at the Landhi police station, a case mentions the name of Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Mustafa Kamal.

According to the FIR, Kamal entered a polling station in Landhi 6 accompanied by 50 to 60 men, and wreaked havoc there.

Another FIR stated that the chaos at the Landhi 6 polling station resulted in the death of one person and injury to several.

It said that clashes broke out when during a TLP rally, several armed men belonging to the TLP opened fire on PSP members.

A passerby, Saifuddin, son of Kalimuddin, was killed in the process.

The FIR said that due to the firing by TLP, deep panic set in among the area's residents.

It further stated that following retaliatory fire by PSP, several people were wounded and are under treatment.

The police cases say that the act of firing by the political parties, that ultimately resulted in a death and multiple injuries, constitutes a crime under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 324 (attempt to commit murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The third case registered at the Landhi police station was filed on the complaint of the presiding officer and includes terrorism related clauses, said police officials.

According to the first information report (FIR), 400-500 people belonging to a political party entered a polling station all at once.

The staff of the polling station were beaten up and election materials damaged, the FIR said.

When the ballot boxes were damaged, the police sprung into action, it further said, adding that the troublemakers were immediately dispersed and the polling process resumed.

The fourth case, registered at the Korangi police station was filed on the complaint of a police officer and includes a riot clause.

According to the FIR, 20-25 men armed with sticks stood outside a polling station set up at a school.

The police raided the polling station and took five men into custody and recovered the sticks, the FIR said.

The stick-wielding men attempted to destabilise law and order, the FIR added.

Yesterday's by-election saw incidents of violence across the constituency, with one person belonging to the PSP killed and several others injured — including ex-MPA Iftikhar Alam, who is also a member of the PSP.

The contest saw the participation of 25 candidates for the seat — a stronghold of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) — that fell vacant after the death of MQM-P MNA Muhammad Ali Khan this year on April 19.

MQM-P once again emerged victorious with a close margin of 65 votes against rival Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

The MQM-P candidate, Mohammad Abubakar, secured 10,683 votes, while TLP candidate Shahzada Shahbaz bagged 10,618 votes.

Meanwhile, Muhajir Qaumi Movement candidate Syed Rafiuddin secured the third position with 8,349 votes, PPP Nasir Rahim got fourth place after bagging 5,240 votes, and PSP’s Shabbir Kaimkhani grabbed 4,782 votes to stand fifth.

 

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FATF: Plenary meeting show good signs of a decision in Pakistan's favour

BERLIN, GERMANY: All eyes are on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) plenary meeting concluding today (Friday), with Pakistan having high hopes to secure an 'onsite visit' which may lead Islamabad a step closer to get out of the grey list.

 A government official said in conversation with the BBC that the recent updates on the plenary meeting show good signs of a decision in Pakistan's favour.

He said that the consent and consolation of other countries in the meeting is also significant.

However, he said that matters will take seven to eight months to settle even if Pakistan makes its way out of the watch list as the FATF team will visit Pakistan for an inspection.

Sources said that the FATF had directed Pakistan to fulfil 34 conditions in two stages, which Pakistan accomplished. The country fulfilled 32 out of 34 conditions in the last FATF meeting and completed the remaining two in this meeting.

They said that the final decision could be delayed till the next FATF meeting scheduled to take place in Paris in October.

Pakistan had launched a massive diplomatic effort to get off the FATF grey list. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of Pakistan’s National FATF Coordination Committee, is leading the Pakistan delegation at the plenary meeting that started on June 14.

Pakistan needs the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to get off the list, and all three countries have assured the Pakistani authorities of full support. That's why there are now bright chances that Pakistan may finally exit the FATF grey list after its current meeting being held in Berlin, Germany.

According to sources, during the recent visits of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to different countries, important discussions took place regarding FATF. In all these meetings, a soft attitude towards Pakistan was expressed by important countries.

Pakistan has implemented almost all points of the FATF Action Plan, except for the penalties, and Pakistan has made prosecutions and all relevant legal amendments.

Pakistan was placed on the FATF list of countries under increased monitoring in June, 2018.

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Energy regulatory has app­roved an increase of Rs1.55 per unit

The energy regulator has app­roved an increase of Rs1.55 per unit (kilowatt-hour) in rates of power distribution companies under the quarterly tariff adjustment mechanism for September-December 2021 to generate Rs39 billion revenue.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority said it had already conducted a public hearing on the matter on April 28.

The hike will apply to all consumers, including lifeline consumers using up to 50 units per month and some industrial users covered under a support package.

K-Electric consumers are exempted from the tariff increase.

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US dollar continues to extend

The US dollar continued to extend gains on Friday as it crossed Rs208 during early morning trade in the interbank market — a trend analysts attribute to a delay in the deal with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves.

According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the greenback appreciated by 65 paisa from the yesterday's close of Rs207.85 and rose to Rs208.40.

Rupee has been losing ground ever since the start of the week which has worried investors and is creating frustration among the stakeholders of the economy.

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