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SBP pumps Rs10.48tr into banks | The Express Tribune
At current prices, the looted gold is worth around $70 million. PHOTO: PIXABAY
KARACHI:
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday made sizeable liquidity injections through both conventional and Shariah-compliant open market operations (OMOs), providing more than Rs10.48 trillion in short-term funds to indirectly meet the government’s needs.
According to the central bank’s Domestic Markets and Monetary Management Department, the SBP accepted a total of Rs10.27 trillion in its conventional reverse repo (injection) operation. The central bank saw significant participation from market players across two tenors, which reflected persistent demand for short-term liquidity in the banking system.
In the seven-day tenor, banks offered bids of Rs10.13 trillion, all of which were accepted by the SBP at a rate of return of 11.01% per annum, with 19 quotes secured. For the 14-day tenor, Rs140.65 billion was offered and fully accepted at 11.02%, based on four quotes. The combined realised value for both tenors came in at Rs9.87 trillion.
The SBP also conducted a Shariah-compliant Mudarabah-based OMO injection, aimed at supporting Islamic banking institutions facing tight liquidity positions. The total amount accepted under the Islamic OMO reached Rs214.7 billion against bids of Rs290.7 billion.
In the seven-day tenor, the central bank accepted Rs189.7 billion at an annual return of 11.05%, while one quote worth Rs25 billion was accepted in the 14-day tenor at 11.06%. The aggregate realised value for the Islamic OMO stood at Rs215 billion.
Furthermore, the Pakistani rupee recorded a slight uptick, appreciating 0.01% to close at 280.32 against the US dollar, a gain of Rs0.04 in the inter-bank market. This follows Thursday’s close at 280.36, reflecting continued stability in the local currency.
Meanwhile, gold prices in Pakistan surged, even as the international market retreated from a seven-week peak, driven largely by currency pressures and persistent local demand. According to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association, the price of gold per tola climbed Rs10,700 to reach Rs454,262, while 10-gram gold rose Rs9,174 to Rs389,456. This follows Thursday’s modest increase, when the per-tola price settled at Rs443,562.
Silver prices in the domestic market also gained traction, rising from Rs232 to Rs6,684 per tola. The trend contrasted sharply with global markets, where silver dropped more than 3% after a record-breaking rally, falling to $61.7 per ounce from an all-time high of $64.64 earlier in the session.
In the international bullion market, gold eased 0.1% to $4,280.69 per ounce, while US gold futures remained largely unchanged at $4,312.90. The slight pullback was attributed to profit-taking and investor caution ahead of significant US economic data releases scheduled for next week.
Adnan Agar, Director at Interactive Commodities, said global gold prices experienced intra-day volatility. “The high was $4,353 and the market was later around $4,295 after opening at $4,270. The market went up and then dipped slightly,” he noted.
Agar expects next week’s US employment and inflation data to be decisive for gold’s direction. “If the data supports gold, it could break above its all-time high of around $4,388,” he said, adding that silver’s record highs may signal further upside potential for gold.
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The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 371 points, or 0.47%, at 81,090.24, while the NSE Nifty rises by 70 points to trade above 24,850 at 24,889.25.
Stock Market Today.
Market Updates Today: A day after the market crash following the Budget’s provision to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the domestic equity market on Monday saw heightened volatility. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.
As of 3:16 pm, the BSE Sensex surged by 932 points, or up 1.13%, to 81,641.87 in the afternoon trade and the NSE Nifty rose by 267 points, or up 1.07%, to trade above 25,000 at 25,093.27. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.27.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 25 stocks were trading in the green. Among the top gainers were PowerGrid, Adani Ports, BEL, Reliance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and IndiGo, rising by up to 7.91%. The laggards were Axis Bank, Infosys, Titan, TCS, and Trent, falling by up to 1.97%.
After opening nearly flat, at around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex jumped by 350 points to 81,112.03 in the opening trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 91 points to trade above the 24,900 level at 24,910.85. However, the benchmarks gave up all gains and declined to day’s low amid heavy volatility.
Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd, said, “Near-term sentiment remains cautious despite some support from domestic technical indicators. The broader market direction will largely be influenced by global equity cues, crude oil price movements, and institutional fund flows.”
On Sunday, the Nifty saw an aggressive sell-off after the Budget 2026 announcement to hike STT, plunging nearly 870 points from 25,440 to an intraday low of 24,571, before staging a partial recovery to close at 24,825.
“A strong bearish candle was formed, with the index closing decisively below the 200-day EMA, indicating a deterioration in trend strength. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,950–25,000, while key support lies in the 24,650-24,700 zone. The RSI slipped to 31, reflecting oversold conditions, while India VIX surged 10.73% to 15.09, highlighting elevated market volatility,” Shah said.
On Sunday, February 1, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 588 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also remained net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 682 crore, adding to the pressure on the market.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “Yesterday’s market selloff resulting in 495 point crash in Nifty was a knee-jerk reaction to the sharp increase in STT on F&O trades. This was not a revenue-raising measure, but a decision to discourage retail traders from complex F&O trading, in which 92% of them were losing money. This decision is in the interest of retail investors. But this decision impacted the market sentiments, which were already impacted by the decision to make no changes in the LTCGs tax, which a section of the market was expecting rather unrealistically.”
It is important to understand that the Budget is a growth-oriented Budget with fiscal prudence. The 10% nominal GDP growth projected in the Budget is achievable and has the potential to deliver around 15% earnings growth in FY27. The market will soon start discounting this positive. But it is possible that FIIs may continue to sell impacting the market. Retail investors should keep their cool and remain invested and continue to invest systematically. A significant upturn in the market may take time; perhaps a retreat from AI trade globally. We don’t know when this will happen. But we know that an earnings rebound is imminent in response to this growth oriented Budget. That is a clear positive, he added.
February 02, 2026, 09:34 IST
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Gold and silver prices have continued to drop sharply in a “brutal” sell-off after hitting record highs in recent weeks.
The precious metals began falling on Friday in response to US President Donald Trump’s nomination for the incoming chairman of the Federal Reserve.
His choice for former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace current chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends in May soothed some investor nerves, which boosted the US dollar but saw appetite for safe-haven investments gold and silver slump in response.
Gold and silver suffered their worst trading days for decades on Friday and were down heavily again on Monday, with spot prices off by another 7% and 11% respectively at one stage.
Silver had plunged by nearly 30% on Friday and gold dropped over 9% in its worst one-day drop since 1983.
Gold and silver had been enjoying a record breaking rally as investors sought refuge amid global geopolitical uncertainty, conflict and tariff woes.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: “The sell-off has been far more brutal than I, and many, expected.”
He added: “For silver, the rally on the way up was faster than gold’s, so the correction on the way down is faster too.”
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, added: “If the sell off continues, then gold and silver are at risk of eroding their losses for the year so far.
“The historic move lower in silver prices has not stemmed a fall at the start of this week.
“Traders have not yet found a level that they are happy to buy the dips, and the timing of Chinese Lunar New Year in mid-February could accelerate the sell off, as Chinese traders reduce risk ahead of the holiday.”
UK and US stock markets are expected to open in the red on Monday, as the gold and silver rout has a knock on effect on mining giants, while Brent oil was also 5% lower.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Mining stocks are likely to feel the heat as metal prices scramble to find a floor.
“Oil prices are also trending the wrong way for investors in commodity-focused companies.”
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