KARACHI
Pakistani rupee extended gains against the US dollar in the inter-bank market for the sixth consecutive session on Wednesday and improved by 9 paisas (+0.03 percent).
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 281.22 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 281.13. Overall, the local unit improved by 46 paisas against the greenback last week while it has gained Rs5.63 during the previous eight weeks, all closing on positive notes.
Similarly, the rupee improved by Rs7.16 during the current fiscal year 2023-24 and 73 paisas in the current year. The rupee gained Rs3.31 against the US dollar in December, while it 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.
On the other hand, the local unit went 25 paisas down against the greenback in the open market.
The rupee was quoted at 280 for buying and 283 for selling as compared to 279.75 for buying and 282.75 for selling in the previous session, according to data provided by different exchange companies.
The rupee gained Rs3.50 against the greenback in December while it surged by 50 paisas against the greenback last week.
In a related development, inflow of overseas workers’ remittances clocked in at $2.4 billion in December 2023, 5.4 percent higher on a month-on-month basis when compared to $2.25 billion in November 2023, showed data released on Wednesday by the SBP.
On a yearly basis, the monthly inflow of remittances registered an increase of 13.4 percent as it stood at $2.1 billion in the same month of the previous year, data showed.
However, despite the increase in December, workers’ remittances inflow of $13.43 billion was recorded during July-December FY24, a decline of 6.8 percent YoY or $982.8 million, as compared to $14.42 billion registered in 6MFY23.
The local currency has advanced against the greenback during the previous eight weeks, a momentum aided by the announcement of a staff-level agreement (SLA) between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review of the $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).
In a key development during the previous week, the SBP data showed that foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $464 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $8.2 billion as of December 29.
Foreign currency reserves have cumulatively risen by $1.32 billion in two weeks, which reflects a rebound from almost six-month low of $6.90 billion hit on December 15, 2023.
