KARACHI
Pakistani rupee extended gains against the US dollar for the second day in a row on Thursday and appreciated by 59 paisas (+0.21 percent) in the interbank market. The rupee maintained a winning streak after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that China has rolled over a $2.4 billion loan to Islamabad for a period of two years, a boost to its foreign reserves on the back of an IMF deal which helped it avert a default.
“Chinese Exim bank rolled over principal amounts totalling $2.4 bln which are due in next 2 fiscal years,” he said in a post on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Moreover, a generous inflow of $600 million is expected from a consortium of two major Chinese banks in the coming days.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 287.04 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 286.45. During the last two sessions, the rupee strengthened against the US dollar by Rs2.07. However, in the preceding eight sessions, the local unit weakened by Rs12.06 in the interbank market. During the shortened four-day week, the Pakistani rupee appreciated by 36 paisas against the US dollar compared to the previous week’s closing of 286.81.
Similarly, the local unit appreciated against the greenback in the open market by Rs2 (+0.68 percent). The rupee was quoted in the range of 288-291 against the dollar in the open market as compared to 290-293 a session earlier. In the black market/Hundi, the dollar was quoted at Rs310 against Rs312 a session earlier.
During the current fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistani rupee has shed Rs0.46 against the US dollar in the interbank market, while it plummeted by Rs59.02 against the greenback in the current year.
