ISLAMABAD
Crude oil prices lowered after the US dollar strengthened due to a tentative debt limit deal.
As of 1255 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.70 (-0.91 percent) to reach $76.25. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went down by $0.58 (-0.80 percent) to $72.09.
The price of Russian Sokol increased by $1.17 (+1.79 percent) to $66.38. Arab Light prices witnessed an increase of $1.22 (+1.58 percent) to reach $78.63 a barrel.
The price for Opec Basket decreased by $0.55 (-0.71 percent) to $76.94. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of Saharan Blend, Girassol, Djeno, Zafiro, Rabi Light, Iran Heavy, Basra Light, Kuwait Export, Es Sider, Bonny Light, Arab Light, Murban and Merey.
US President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy over the weekend forged an agreement to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and cap government spending for the next two years. Both leaders expressed confidence that members of the Democratic and Republican parties will vote to support the deal. Meanwhile, Pakistan may announce a significant reduction in petroleum prices for the first fortnight of June 2023. This anticipated decline is in response to the imminent arrival of Russian oil, which holds the promise of substantial cost savings compared to prevailing international market prices.
The Pakistani government is scheduled to unveil the new petroleum prices on May 31, 2023, for the next 15 days, providing relief to the general public and alleviating the burden of high fuel costs.
The recent decline in international oil prices, coupled with the stable value of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar over the preceding 15 days, has created favorable conditions for the government to adjust petroleum prices. The government takes into consideration global market fluctuations and the rupee-to-dollar exchange rate when determining petroleum prices. TLTP
climbs above $1,900 mark as cryptos rally
ISLAMABAD, (TLTP): Cryptocurrencies rallied on Monday following the resolution of the US debt ceiling deadlock, with the market cap rising 1.21 percent to reach $1.21 trillion.
As of 1315 hours GMT, Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most valued token, increased to $27,883 with a gain of 2.7 percent in the last 24 hours. The market capitalisation of the biggest crypto reached $540.6 billion with this increase. Bitcoin has gained 4.3 percent of its value over the last seven days. Bitcoin managed to briefly rise above the $29,000 mark but dipped down later.
Ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, managed to climb above the $1,900 mark after weeks of slump. ETH gained 3.2 percent to reach $1,901. With this increase in price, the market capitalisation of ETH has reached $229 billion. ETH has been 4.9 percent up in the past seven days.
Binance Coin (BNB) price increased 2.8 percent to reach $316. With this increase in price, the market capitalisation of BNB has reached $49.9 billion. BNB has gained 2.5 percent of its value during the last seven days.
On the other hand, Ripple (XRP) price increased 1.8 percent to reach $0.481. The market capitalisation of XRP stands at $25 billion with this increase. XRP has gained 4.2 percent of its value during the last seven days.
Similarly, Cardano (ADA) price surged 0.5 percent to reach $0.379. Its market capitalisation has reached $13.29 billion with this increase. ADA has gained 3.1 percent of its value in the past seven days.
While memecoin PEPE continued to be the top loser of the lot, with a 24-hour dip of over 4 percent, the Mask Network (MASK) token emerged to be the biggest gainer of the lot, with a 24-hour jump of over 13 percent.
The majority of cryptocurrencies witnessed positive momentum due to market responses to two key developments: the White House’s announcement of a successful resolution to the debt ceiling crisis and better-than-expected personal consumption data from the US. TLTP
