KARACHI
Pakistani rupee advanced against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday and improved by eight paisas, closing the 11th week in a row on a positive note.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 279.67 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 279.59, improving by 0.03 percent. Overall, the local unit improved by Rs0.31 against the greenback this week while it gained Rs7.44 during the previous 11 weeks, which it closed on a positive note. Out of the last 32 sessions, the rupee has surged in 29 sessions while it remained unchanged in one session.
The rupee improved by Rs8.70 during the current fiscal year 2023-24 and Rs2.27 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 unchanged against the greenback in the open market. The rupee was quoted at 279 for buying and 281 for selling against the same rates a session earlier, 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. The rupee has gained Rs2 against the greenback in the previous four weeks while it gained Rs3.50 in December.
In a related development, the SBP on Thursday reported an increase in its foreign exchange reserves, marking a rise of $243 million within a week to reach $8.27 billion as of January 19.
This increase is largely attributed to the receipt of the second tranche of $705 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is part of a broader $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with Pakistan. Additionally, the central bank has successfully managed the government’s external debt repayments in this period.
In a wider context, the total liquid foreign currency reserves of Pakistan, including the reserves held by banks other than the SBP, stood at $13.341 billion. This figure represents an increase of $196 million compared to the previous week. However, it is important to note a decrease in the net reserves held by other banks, which fell by $47 million to a total of $5.071 billion. The recent developments in Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves demonstrate the country’s effective financial management and its active collaboration with international financial entities like the IMF.
