KARACHI: Pakistani rupee continued losing ground against the US dollar in the inter-bank market for the fourth straight session on Thursday with a depreciation of four paisas. According to data released by the State Bank, the rupee lost around 0.01 percent in value against the dollar over the previous session’s closing value. The data showed that the rupee lost Rs0.04 in value, slipping from last session’s close of Rs278.40 to Rs278.44. Overall, the rupee has improved by Rs9.85 against the greenback during the current fiscal year 2023-24. The local unit improved by Rs1.16 in March, Rs0.39 in February, Rs2.36 in January and Rs3.31 in December, while it shed Rs3.69 against the US dollar in November after gaining Rs6.26 (+2.23 percent) in the month of October. Meanwhile, the local unit in the open market was quoted at 278.35 for buying and 280.35 for selling, according to data provided by different exchange companies. The rupee surged against the greenback by Re1 in March and February, Rs2 in January and Rs3.50 in December. The conflict-ridden situation in the Middle East has begun to impact the domestic currency, as oil prices continue to escalate. However, the government does not anticipate any significant currency devaluation as part of its negotiations with the IMF to unlock billions of dollars in lending and bolster the nation’s economic reform agenda. TLTP
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said there’d be no reason for the rupee to depreciate more than the range of about 6% to 8% seen in a typical year. Pakistan last devalued its currency in January 2023. Talks between Pakistan and the IMF are underway in Washington, wherein the government team will request the Fund for approval of a new loan program.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP slightly decreased by $0.1 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $8.04 billion as of April 5, data released on Monday showed. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.44 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.40 billion. It may be noted that the repayment of $1 billion Pakistan’s International Bond on April 12, 2024 did not reflect in this week’s data.
