ISLAMABAD
\nAfter pummeled by the US dollar for a couple of days, the Pakistani rupee staged a strong showing in the interbank market on Friday apparently on the basis of improved foreign exchange reserves.
\nAccording to the information collected from forex dealers, the Pakistani rupee soared by Rs2.30 against the US dollar and was currently being traded at Rs280. On Thursday, the rupee remained at the receiving end against the US dollar, depreciating by 1.13%.
\nAs per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee settled at 282.30 against the greenback, a decline of Rs3.18 in the interbank market. The SBP-held foreign exchange reserves rose above the $4 billion mark after the cash-strapped Pakistan received a $500 million loan installment from a Chinese bank on Thursday.
\nThe SBP said that its foreign exchange reserves have increased by $487 million to $4,301 million as of the week ended March 3, which will provide an import cover of around a month.
\nThe SBP received $500 million last week from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as part of the institution\u2019s $1.3 billion facility, just days after it had received $700 million from the China Development Bank.
\nPakistan hasn\u2019t received funds from any friendly country except for China as the $350 billion economy struggles to revive the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
\nCash-strapped Pakistan has been trying to secure the IMF bailout to avert a debt default, unlock more funding and stave off severe supply shortages.
\nThere are $7 billion of repayments in the coming months, including a Chinese loan of $2 billion due in March, according to Fitch Ratings.
\nThe nation needs to repay about $3 billion dues in the upcoming payments while $4 billion is expected to be rolled over, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said in a briefing. In a related development, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed has also said that the current account deficit is projected at $7 billion for the ongoing fiscal year against the budgetary target of $10 billion subsequent to measures taken to control imports.
\nMoreover, he informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that the inquiry report against certain banks on account of foreign exchange manipulation has been completed, indicating variation in banks\u2019 forex profits during a specific period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD After pummeled by the US dollar for a couple of days, the Pakistani rupee staged a strong showing in the interbank market on Friday apparently on the basis of improved foreign exchange reserves. According to the information collected from forex dealers, the Pakistani rupee soared by Rs2.30 against the US dollar and was currently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[181],"class_list":{"0":"post-318726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"tag-dollar"},"yoast_head":"\n