ISLAMABAD: Although slightly, but an appreciation of the Pakistani Rupee continued for the last several days and on Friday the local unit gained 09 paisa further against the American dollar in the interbank trading to settle at Rs277.94 as compared to the previous day’s closing of Rs278.03.
However, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback against the local unit in the open market was observed at Rs278 and Rs280.75 respectively.
Like the greenback, the price of the Euro also went down by 44 paisa to settle at Rs299.55 compared to the last-day price of Rs299.99, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen, however, remained constant at Rs1.83, whereas the British Pound recorded an increase of 28 paisa in the exchange rate to close at Rs350.86 compared to Rs350.58 on Thursday.
The price for the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal also observed a decline and went down by 03 paisa and 02 paisa to settle at Rs 75.68 and Rs 74.11 respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
The local currency oscillated both ways against the greenback during the last couple of months with a recent continued upward trend. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local unit recorded appreciation for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by a continued fall 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 American dollar, 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. In addition, on 29th February, China also rolled over $2b to Pakistan which was due in March 2024. As a result, the Pakistani Rupee improved by over Rs 5 in the interbank during the last four to five weeks.
In another major development On 20th March (Wednesday) Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement over the final review of the $3 billion Standby-By Agreement, adding fresh air for boosting the local currency and the country’s economy. However, the nation must be ready for further price hikes in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be conditioned with further taxation.
