KARACHI
Pakistani rupee continued making slight gains against the US dollar for the sixth week in a row and improved by 73 paisas in the interbank market and 50 paisas in the open market.
According to details, the rupee opened at 283.26 against the greenback in the interbank market on Monday last and closed at 282.53 on Friday, registering a rise of 0.26 percent week-on-week.
The rupee improved by 21 paisas, Rs1.10, 40 paisas, Rs1.13 and 53 paisas in the preceding five weeks. Overall, the local unit has improved by Rs4.5 during the previous six weeks.
Similarly, the rupee improved by Rs5.76 during the current fiscal year 2023-24. However, the rupee depreciated by Rs51.69 in the current year.
The rupee shed Rs3.69 against the US dollar in November after gaining Rs6.26 (+2.23 percent) against the greenback in the month of October.
The currency surged more than 6 percent in September to become the top performer in the world.
Following suit, the local unit gained 50 paisas against the greenback in the open market and closed the week in the range of 281-284 after opening the week at 281.50-284.50 on Monday. The rupee gained 50 paisas against the greenback in the preceding weeks too.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board will meet on January 11 to consider the final approval to disburse the next $700 million tranche from its current loan programme with Pakistan.
Pakistan has been facing an acute balance of payment crisis, along with historically high inflation and an unprecedented currency devaluation in the past couple of years.
According to experts, the local unit is expected to remain stable as the market awaits the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board meeting, which is scheduled for January 11. The IMF’s executive board will decide on the release of the next tranche of $700 million to Pakistan under its ongoing $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA). The market remains confident amid an expected release of funds by the IMF next month, said experts.
The expected release of funds would improve the external position of the country, and could unlock inflows from other multilateral and bilateral creditors, providing further cushion to the currency.
Earlier in November, Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the first review of the country’s nine-month Stand-By Agreement (SBA).
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by $136 million (-1.9 percent) to reach $6,904.8 million on a week-on-week basis, the SBP reported on Thursday. As of the week ending December 15, 2023, the SBP’s foreign currency reserves stood at $6,904.8 million, marking a $136 million decline compared to the previous week’s total of $7,040.8 million. The central bank attributed debt repayment as the reason for the decrease in reserves. The total liquid foreign currency reserves for the country, inclusive of reserves held by commercial banks, amounted to $12,068.4 million, with net reserves held by commercial banks standing at $5,163.6 million.
