ISLAMABAD: After appreciating by 9 paisa last Friday, the Pakistani Rupee registered a slight depreciation by 03 paisa on Monday against the American dollar in the interbank trading to close at Rs278.23 as compared to Rs 278.20 the previous day.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market also observed a slight change and settled at Rs 277.50 and Rs 280.35 respectively.
Like the greenback, the price of the Euro also went up by 58 paisa against the local unit to settle at Rs 299.43 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 298.85, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen however decreased by 01 paisa to Rs1.80, while the British Pound recorded an increase of 37 paisa to close at Rs349.70 against Rs 349.33 recorded on Friday.
The price of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal increased by 1 paisa each to settle at Rs 75.75 and Rs 74.18 respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
Recently the local unit registered both appreciation and depreciation, against the US dollar with recent continuous improvement except in the last few days. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local currency witnessed improvement for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the American dollar, followed by a continuous 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 local currency 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 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 April 30. Pakistan would be now looking to get a larger and longer Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the IMF programme to further strengthen its economic stature. However, the public be ready for further increases in prices in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be followed by further taxation.
