KARACHI
Pakistani rupee improved by 15 paisas (0.05) against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday, surging for the 23rd time in the last 25 sessions.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 280.25 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 280.10. Overall, the local unit improved by Rs1.04 against the greenback last week while it gained Rs6.67 during the previous nine weeks.
Similarly, the rupee improved by Rs8.19 during the current fiscal year 2023-24 and Rs1.76 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 remained stable against the greenback in the open market. The rupee was quoted at 279.5 for buying and 281.5 for selling, 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.
Meanwhile, the SBP said that Pakistan has received a tranche of $705.6 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The development comes days after the IMF Executive Board completed the first review of the $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement.
“The SBP has received SDR 528 million (equivalent to $705.6 million) in value 16th January 2024 from IMF following successful completion of the first review by the Executive Board of IMF under Stand By Arrangement (SBA),” the central bank said in a post on X. This disbursement will be reflected in SBP Reserves for the week ending on 19th January 2024.
In another statement, the SBP said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed rollover of its two deposits of $1 billion each placed with the State Bank of Pakistan for another one year, which were maturing in January 2024. In January 2023, the UAE agreed to roll over the existing loan of $2 billion and provide an additional loan of $1 billion.
The latest developments hold significance for Pakistan’s economic landscape as the country faces a low level of foreign exchange reserves amid repayments and low non-debt-creating dollar inflows. Foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP decreased by $66 million on week-on-week, clocking in at $8.15 billion as of January 5, data released last Thursday showed. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.25 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.10 billion.
On the other hand, inflow through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) clocked in at $160 million in December, up by 17 percent as compared to $137 million in November 2023, the SBP said on Monday. Out of the total amount, $7 million have so far been repatriated, while funds to the tune of $120 million have been utilised locally. Whereas, the net repatriable liability stands at $34 million. Cumulative inflows crossed $7.2 billion by December-end.
