ISLAMABAD: After a minimal depreciation of 29 paisa during last four days, the Pakistani rupee finally bounced back on Friday while depreciating by 13 paisa against the US dollar in the interbank trading to settle at Rs 278.30 against the last day closing of Rs278.43.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market stood at Rs277.6 and Rs280.35 respectively.
The last four days depreciation was also attributed to some of the media reports about devaluation of the local currency in context of the upcoming IMF grant. However, in interview with Bloomberg, Pakistan’s finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that “there’d be no reason for the Pakistani currency to depreciate more than the range of about 6% to 8% seen in a typical year”.
Like the greenback, the rates for the Euro against the local unit went down by Rs1.05 to settle at Rs296.43 as compared to Rs297.48, last day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen however remained constant at Rs1.80, whereas the British Pound observed a decline of Rs1.06 to close at Rs346.28 compared to the previous closing of Rs347.34.
The price of Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal decreased by 04 paisa each to close at Rs75.77 and Rs74.18 respectively.
Pak Rupee Against US Dollar
The local unit oscillated both way against the greenback during last couple of months with recent continues appreciation except the last four days. From September, till middle of October 2023, the local currency witnessed appreciation for record 28 consecutive sessions against the American dollar, followed by continues decline for 17th consecutive sessions from October till middle of November, 2023.
However, at the end of December 2023, and then in January 2024, the local unit mostly enjoyed appreciation against the US dollar, thanks to the inflow from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in form of Rs700m followed by a $2b roll over from the UAE on January 20, 2024. In addition, on 29th February, China also rolled over $2b to Pakistan which was due in March 2024. As a result, the Pakistani currency improved by over Rs 7 in the interbank during last five to six weeks.
In another major development on 20th March (Wednesday) Pakistan and the IMF reached the staff-level agreement over the final review of the $3 billion Standby-By Agreement, adding some relief for boosting of the local currency and country economy. However, the nation must be ready for further hike in prices and inflation in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be conditioned with further taxation.
In addition, Pakistan’s finance Minister is already in Washington as part of the negotiation for a new multi-billion-dollar programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
