ISLAMABAD: After a marginal appreciation last day, the Pakistani Rupee continued the upward trajectory on Tuesday while further gaining 11 paisa against the American dollar in the interbank trading to closed at Rs278.11 against the last day’s closing of Rs278.23.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market, stood at Rs 277.50 and Rs 280.25 respectively.
Like the American dollar, the price of the Euro also went down by 32 paisa against the local currency to settle at Rs299.11 as compared to Rs299.43, on the last day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen, however, registered no change and remained constant at Rs1.80, while the British Pound witnessed a decline of Rs1.12 to close at Rs348.58 against the last day price of Rs349.70.
Meanwhile, the price of the Emirates Dirham decreased by 4 paisa to settle at Rs 75.71 whereas that of the Saudi Riyal went down by 3 paisa to settle at Rs.4.15.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
Recently the local currency registered both appreciation and depreciation, against the US dollar with recent improvement except in the last few days. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local unit registered appreciation for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the US dollar, followed by a continuous decline for 17th consecutive sessions from October till the middle of November 2023.
However at the end of December 2023, and then in January 2024, the local unit mostly registered appreciation against the greenback, thanks to the inflow from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in the 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 rupee went up by over Rs 7 in the interbank during the last five to six weeks.
In another recent development, Pakistan received $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the final tranche of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), on April 30. Pakistan would be now looking to get a larger and longer Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the IMF programme to further boost its economic stature. However, the public must be ready for further increases in prices in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be followed by further taxation.
