KARACHI: Pakistani rupee showed slight improvement against the US dollar for the third consecutive day and appreciated by 23 paisas (+0.08 percent) on Friday. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs283.82 in the interbank market and closed at Rs283.59. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 286/289 per dollar against 286.50/290 a dollar a session earlier. During the current fiscal year 2022-23, Pakistani rupee has lost Rs77.72 against the US dollar in the interbank, while it plummeted by Rs57.16 against the greenback in the current year. Pakistan has been facing a shortage in its foreign exchange reserves for quite some time, which is affecting the overall exchange rate, and business and economic activity in the country. Recent bilateral funding and rollovers have brought down some of the pressure on the local currency. However, the country is still suffering from an acute balance of payment and a shortage of foreign exchange reserves. The SBP said a day earlier that its foreign exchange reserves had decreased by $6 million. TLTP
During the week ending on April 28, the total foreign exchange reserves of the central bank fell to around $4.5 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks came at nearly $5.6 billion, said the central bank. Total liquid foreign reserves held by Pakistan stood at about $10 billion, according to the SBP.
The market awaits the resumption of the IMF programme, which remains stalled to date. Pakistan kept petrol prices unchanged this week in a bid to resume the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme. While the move increases the chances of a restart in IMF funding, Pakistan is also reeling from decades-high inflation, as most of the country’s critical imports, including fuel, are paid for in dollars.
