Silver sets new record

AZHAR ALI KHAN

KARACHI: Silver metal prices touched another all time high in the domestic market after being appreciated globally, traders said on Saturday.
The 10-gram silver increased by Rs4.28 to Rs608, while a tola prices surged by Rs5 to set a new record of Rs710 in late Saturday trade.
"The silver metal has become the focus of investors as the gloabl metal prices are consistently setting new records," said a local trader.
The investors believe that the silver runs swiftly parallel to gold and the yellow metal prices are unexpected to go down sharply in near future.
"Silver is comparatively inexpensive and a considered as a very safe haven for the investors specially  for the people managing medium-sized fund," he commented.
The global economies are being recovered at a much slower pace and the analysts believe that acquiring pecious metals are far better than hedging currencies.
Likewise, the international crude oil is not ready to fall below $75 per barrel mark as the world's prime economies are striving hard to get rid of the post-recession era.   

ECC decides to keep wheat support price same at Rs950 per maund

AZHAR ALI KHAN

KARACHI: The federal government has turned down the proposal to increase wheat support price and announced to it unchanged at Rs 950 per maund.
It was decided in the meeting of the Econonic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet held today (Friday) with Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the chair.
The meeting decided that the flood-affected farmers would not be provided with free seeds and fertilizers, however, agriculture loans would be offered at the rate of 8 percent per annum.
"Farmers who own 25 acres of agriculture land would be given Rs2400 per acre," the meeting infomred.

DAP touches year's peak of Rs2900 per sack

AZHAR ALI KHAN

KARACHI: The black-marketers have once again joined hands against flood-affected farmers and started raising the prices of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) - an essential crop nutrient, farmers' representative bodies informed PBW on Friday.
They said that the delaers are selling DAP sack at at year's peak of Rs 2900, which was earlier being sold at Rs 2750.
"The Rabi season has begun and the demand of DAP is swiftly inching up as the farmers are buying fertilizer to sow different crops," said Rao Afsar Ali Khan, President Agri Forum Pakistan Southern Punjab.
The Rabi crops consume more or less 45 million bags of fertilizer and price hike during this season put an extra cost of billions of rupees to farmers.
"The farmers are still feeling the pinch of post-flood consequences and the dealers are exploiting the situation by minting money," he deplored.
"I don't know, where is the government," said a farmer of DG Khan, adding that the concerned departments have kept their lips tight over unjustified price increase, this year too.
The prices of DAP fertilizer have been jacked up by Rs400 per sack during the last few days.