LONDON: Pakistan’s sovereign dollar-denominated bonds rallied in advance of weekend elections for prime minister, Tradeweb data showed on Friday.

The 2027 maturity gained the most, rising around 1 cent to trade at 77.3 cents.

Pakistan’s newly-formed ruling alliance nominated Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister in an election scheduled for March 3, and his bid is expected to succeed.

Pakistan sovereign dollar bonds jump after coalition government deal

The country’s embattled economy has a narrow path to recovery, and a crucial IMF agreement expires on April 11.

The premium demanded by investors to hold Pakistan’s international bonds over safe-haven U.S. Treasuries has tightened to 955 bps - its lowest level since May 2022 and dipping below the psychological 1,000 bps threshold, according to data from the JPMorgan EMBI Global Diversified Index.

Pakistan’s benchmark share index also rose 1% on Friday, according to the Karachi stock exchange website.