KARACHI
Pakistani rupee remained flat against the US dollar on Thursday after falling for three straight days.
The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs176.98 in the interbank market and closed at the same rate i.e. Rs176.98. The rupee witnessed a trading range of 13 paisas during the session, showing the intraday high bid of 176.98 and low offer of 176.85. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 178/179 per dollar.
Overall Pakistan rupee shed 74 paisas against the US dollar during the last four days, while it has depreciated by 47 paisas during the current year 2022. The local unit has depreciated by Rs19.55 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22.
The US dollar climbed in late trading in the international markets on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said that it will soon be appropriate to raise its benchmark interest rate amid surging inflation. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.48 percent to 96.4080.
On the other hand, the rupee has struggled in recent weeks due to uncertainty over the sixth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the $6 billion extended fund facility (EFF) programme.
The IMF website, which lists its executive board calendar, shows Pakistan’s discussion would be taken up on February 2 instead of January 28. Earlier, the IMF board was to take up the Pakistan case on January 12.
The currency experts said that the decline in the local unit came on the back of increased demand from the importers and a lack of sufficient supplies coupled with a delay in IMF review. They said that approval of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 from the Senate will be a key step and if the bill is passed, it will ensure clearance of Pakistan’s sixth review by the IMF’s executive board. The Senate Committee on Finance discussed the bill on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank in its meeting decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 9.75 percent till March in line with the forward guidance provided in the last monetary policy statement.
