KARACHI
Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar by 11 paisas (+0.04 percent) on Monday.
The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs285.09 in the interbank market and closed at Rs284.97. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 290/295 per dollar against 289/294 a dollar a session earlier.
During the current fiscal year 2022-23, Pakistani rupee has lost Rs79.1 against the US dollar in the interbank, while it plummeted by Rs58.54 against the greenback in the current year.
The Ministry of Finance said in a press statement that the government on Monday signed a debt service suspension agreement with the Republic of Korea amounting to the deferment of payment of loans worth $19.911 million, under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) framework.
This amount initially had to be repaid between July and December 2021, but will be repaid over a period of six years (including a one-year grace period) in semi-annual installments, the statement added.
Due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G-20 DSSI has provided the fiscal space which was necessary to deal with the urgent health and economic needs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The total amount of debt, that is to be suspended under the DSSI framework, covering the period of repayment from May 2020 to December 2021, stands at $3,686mn.
Pakistan has already concluded and signed 104 agreements with 21 bilateral creditors for the deferment of its debt repayments under the G-20 DSSI, amounting to $3,633mn.
Experts believe the slight surge in rupee was witnessed after investors received positive cues from the international community. Earlier, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s reassurance that Pakistan would fulfil external obligations timely, with or without the International Monetary Fund (IMF), helped pacify markets.
Dar revealed that there is a plan for foreign payments of $3.7 billion in May and June, and the country would not default. He expressed hopes that China will also rollover a $2.4 billion loan for Pakistan, whereas the budget will be presented on June 9.
