ISLAMABAD: After going down by 16 paisa during last four consecutive session, the Pakistani Rupee on Friday turned bullish against the American dollar in the interbank trading while gaining 10 paisa to settle at Rs278.38 against the last day’s closing of Rs278.48.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market stood at Rs277.25 and Rs279.8 respectively.
Unlike the greenback, the price Euro went up by 20 paisa against the local unit to close at Rs298.87 as compared to the last-day closing of Rs298.67, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen however remained constant atRs1.78, whereas the British Pound registered an increase of 07 to close at Rs348.48 compared to the previous day closing of Rs348.41.
The price of the Emirates Dirham and Saudi Riyal went down by 03 and 02 paisa to settle at Rs75.79 and Rs74.22 respectively.
Pak Rupee Against American Dollar
The local currency swung both way against the US dollar during last couple of months with recent continues improvement except the last few days. From September, till middle of October 2023, the local unit registered appreciation for record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by continues fall 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 currency 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 key 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 in improvement of the local currency and country economy. However, the nation must be ready for further increase in prices in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be coupled with further taxation.
In addition, Pakistan’s finance Minister recent engagement in Washington as part of the negotiation for a new multi-billion-dollar programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would further clarify the flow of the local currency in near future.
