ISLAMABAD: After depreciating by just 1 paisa last day, the Pakistani Rupee on Tuesday gained 08 paisa against the American dollar in the interbank trading to close at Rs 278.31 as compared to the last day’s closing of Rs 278.39.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market stood at Rs 277.35 and Rs 280 respectively.
Like the greenback, the price of the Euro also went down against the local unit by 42 paisa to settle at Rs 297.96 compared to Rs 298.38 on the last day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
However, being remained unchanged last day, the Japanese Yen also decreased by 01 paisa to settle at Rs1.77, while the British Pound witnessed an increase of 20 paisa to trade at Rs348.99 compared to the last day’s closing of Rs348.79.
The price of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal went down by 02 paisa each to settle at Rs75.77 and Rs74.20 respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against American Dollar
The local currency witnessed both appreciation and decline, against the US dollar during the last couple of months with recent continuous improvement except in the last few days. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local currency observed 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 Pakistani currency mostly enjoyed improvement 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 local currency improved 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 Tuesday. Pakistan would be now looking to get a larger and longer Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the IMF programme to further strengthen its economic outlook. However, the nation must be ready for further increases in prices in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be coupled with further taxation.
