Petrol Prices Revised, Elections in 90 days, FBR Tax Targets, IMF Talks, SBP Rate Hike, US Bans TikTok.

TOPLINE

• The Federal government has announced to roll back the per liter ex-depot price of petrol by Rs 5 per liter; however, kept the HSD price unchanged with effect from March 1-15, 2023. Moreover, OGRA raised the rates of LPG by Rs 12 per kg.
• The Supreme Court announced elections in the Punjab and KP within 90 days in a 3-2 judgement. The CJP has observed that no one, except the court, has power to jump the 90-day deadline.
• The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) achieved the collection target of Rs 527 billion set for February, a growth of nearly 19% over the same month last year, and recorded a shortfall of Rs 214 billion in July-February in the target.
• IMF has concerns on the government’s proposed mode to deal with power sector circular debt in the next fiscal year. Moreover, authorities say the lender has ‘changed its mind’ on at least four prior actions.
• The State Bank will issue the Monetary Policy Statement through a press release tomorrow with a suspected? interest rate hike of 2% after calling the meeting two weeks before schedule to meet the IMF demands.
• The White House gave federal agencies 30 days to purge Chinese-owned app TikTok from all government-issued devices.

COMMODITIES - CROPS, LIVESTOCK & HORTICULTURE

• Sindh's Palla Fish Breeding: Minister for Fisheries Abdul Bari Pitafi has said that the breeding of Sindh's famous 'palla' fish was declining due to a lack of water in the Indus River. A 13% increase was witnessed in the exports of fish and fish preparations. [ET] [ET]
• Cotton Spot Rate: The Spot Rate Committee of the Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) on Tuesday increased the spot rate by Rs 200 per maund and closed it at Rs 20,000 per maund. The rate of cotton in Sindh is in between Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 per maund while in Punjab is in between Rs 18,500 to Rs 20,000 per maund. [BR]
• GB Protest Against Wheat Shortages: Several people protested in Gilgit and Ghanche districts on Tuesday over a persistent shortage of electricity and wheat. Many residents, including women, of the Zulfiqarabad neighbourhood gathered at a main intersection and blocked Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam to protest up to 22 hours of daily power outages in their area. [Dawn]
• Early Closure of Markets: Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) North, Hamid Zaman, has urged the government to take stakeholders into confidence before notifying new timing for retail business. [BR]
• RCB Launches Food Testing Lab: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB)’s first food testing lab has formally launched its operations to ensure the manufacture and sale of food items in accordance with the principles of hygiene for the citizens in cantonment areas. [ET]

AGRI-INPUTS, WEATHER, WATER & POWER

• Petrol Price Reduced: Federal government on Tuesday has announced to roll back the per liter ex-depot price of petrol by Rs 5 per liter; however, kept the high speed diesel (HSD) price unchanged with effect from March 1-15, 2023. The new price of petrol is Rs 267 instead of Rs 272 per liter. The rate of Petroleum levy (PL) on petrol is Rs 50 per liter. The ex-depot price of petrol is supposed to be reduced by Rs 7 per liter according to oil marketing companies estimates. [BR] [Dawn] [Geo] [Dunya]
• OGRA Raises LPG Prices: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Tuesday raised the rates of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Rs 12 per kilogramme. According to a notification issued by Ogra, the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was increased by Rs 60 per kg to Rs 278 per kg. [DP] [ARY] [The News]
• No Load Shedding During Sehar & Iftar: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that no load shedding should be done during Sehar and Iftar in Ramadan as well as to minimize load shedding in summer. [BR]
• Nepra Questions NTDC's Delays: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday grilled National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) for not completing transmission lines to evacuate electricity from Thar, which will cause Rs 80 billion financial loss. [BR] [ET]
• Sindh HC Orders Seaview Inspection: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to carry out an inspection of Seaview to find out whether or not untreated raw sewage was being discharged into the sea and what measures the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) had so far taken to prevent contamination of seawater. [Dawn]
• Karachi Fish Harbour Rehabilitation: The Sindh Assembly was informed on Tuesday that the rehabilitation of the Karachi Fish Harbour was underway with the cost of over Rs 1.5 billion since 2019. [Dawn]

AGRI UPDATES & PAKISTAN POLICY

• SC Orders Elections within 90 Days: The Supreme Court (SC), in a 3-2 verdict, ruled today that elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab — both of which have been under caretaker governments since the provincial assemblies were dissolved in January — should be held within 90 days. [BR] [Dawn] [ET]
• Imran Khan's Bail Secured: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan arrived in Islamabad accompanied by a large number of supporters and managed to secure bail in three cases, but his decision to skip the sessions court proceedings prompted the judge to issue non-bailable warrants for his arrest in the Toshakhana case. Supporters, as well as unknown armed men, stormed the judicial complex. Police detained 35 people and thrashed journalists covering Imran’s appearance. [Dawn] [BR] [Dawn] [ET] [PO] [PT] [The News]
• CJP on 90-day Deadline: No one, except the court, has power to jump the 90-day deadline, observes CJP. PPP not in favour of unnecessary delay. Punjab governor says it is not his job to announce the date. [Dawn]
• FBR Fails to Reduce Tax Shortfall: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) achieved the collection target of Rs 527 billion set for February, a growth of nearly 19% over the same month last year, showed provisional data released on Tuesday. Records a shortfall of Rs 214 billion in July-February. Despite enforcing a mini-budget and steep currency devaluation, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) could not narrow down the tax shortfall that came in at around Rs 212 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, though there was an ‘unusual’ spike in collection on the last day.? [Dawn] [ET]
• SBP Prepones MPC Meeting: The SBP’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting has preponed and now it will be held on March 02, 2023. Later on, SBP will issue the Monetary Policy Statement through a press release on the same day with the interest rates likely to increase 2%. [BR] [Dawn] [ET] [ET] [The News]
• Moody's Downgrades Pakistan's Ratings: Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) has downgraded the government of Pakistan’s local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa3 from Caa1. [BR] [Dawn] [ET] [PO] [ARY]
• IMF Concerns on Power Sector: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concerns on the government's proposed mode to deal with power sector circular debt in the next fiscal year. [BR]
• IMF's Policy Impact Concerns: Authorities say the lender ‘changed its mind’ on at least four prior actions. Officials hint at ‘1998-like situation’, say foreign capitals working for Pakistan’s ‘meltdown’. Despite its pro-poor mantra, sources claim Fund pushing measures that may hit low-income groups. [Dawn]
• BISP Stipend Increased: Faced with scathing criticism over its alleged failure to take adequate measures for addressing the economic woes of the common man against the backdrop of unbridled inflation, the federal government, Tuesday, said that it was increasing by 2,000 rupees the quarterly stipend offered to deserving beneficiaries under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from Rs 7,000 to Rs 9,000. [BR]
• Pakistan's Unsustainable Debt Burden: The federal government on Tuesday released data on the sorry state of Pakistan’s public debt, revealing that debt burden was Rs10.4 trillion higher than the legally allowed limit and that many risks have increased in the last fiscal year – making the burden unsustainable. [ET]

INTERNATIONAL – OVERVIEW & MARKET OUTLOOK

• Arctic Seed Vault Expands: A ‘doomsday’ Arctic seed vault near the North Pole on Norway’s Spitsbergen island is set to receive its most diverse batch of seed donations yet as efforts to secure the world’s food supplies ramp up amid rising climate concerns. [Dawn] [Impakter]
• US Orders TikTok Ban: The White House on Monday gave federal agencies 30 days to purge Chinese-owned video-snippet sharing app TikTok from all government-issued devices, setting a deadline to comply with a ban ordered by the US Congress. [Dawn]
• US Stock Markets Decline: The benchmark S&P 500 slipped and the main US indexes were set for monthly losses on Tuesday as Treasury yields rose with investors bracing for the possibility of interest rates remaining high for a prolonged period. [BR]
• Oil Prices: Oil prices rose about 2% on Tuesday, erasing the previous session’s losses, as hopes for a strong economic rebound in China offset worries about US interest rate hikes dragging down consumption in the world’s biggest economy. Brent crude futures for April, due to expire on Tuesday, were up by $1.55, or 1.9%, at $84.00 a barrel by 12:59 p.m. EST (1759 GMT). The more active May contract rose $1.72, or 2.1%, to $83.76. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.86, or 2.5%, to $77.54 a barrel. [BR]
• Canola Futures Rise on Demand: ICE Canada canola futures ended mostly higher on Monday on talk of fresh export demand from China following a recent decline in prices, traders said. Supplies in the cash market were tight as the recent price drop had discouraged farmer selling of canola in storage. March canola futures gained $6.90 to $841.30 per tonne. Most-active May canola settled $4.00 higher at $823.70 per tonne. [BR]
• Ukraine Troops Under Pressure: Ukraine said on Tuesday its troops were under mounting pressure in the battered frontline city of Bakhmut in the industrial east, a key prize for the Kremlin after months of brutal combat. [Dawn] [DW] [The News]

PAKISTAN - REMAINDERS

• Opinion: Dying Children and Frozen Flocks in Afghanistan’s Bitter Winter of Crisis - As with many across Afghanistan, the overlapping crises of an economic crash, malnutrition and brutal weather have cut short any sense of relief after the long war finally ended in 2021. - By Christina Goldbaum & Yaqoob Akbary [NYT]
• Opinion: Desperate to Reach Foreign Shores - “Imagine just how desperate a person has to be to sign up with a human smuggler to be pushed illegally through several countries and board a filthy boat prone to crashing. It is a hard and depressing truth that while the rich party in Pakistan, the poor are so utterly without hope as to take such chances with their lives.” - By Rafia Zakaria [Dawn]