ISLAMABAD: Following the Eid holidays, the slight depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee continued as on Tuesday the local currency witnessed further depreciation by 07 paisa against the American dollar in the interbank trading to settle at Rs278.29 against Rs278.22 on 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 stood at Rs277.5 and Rs280.25 respectively.
Unlike the greenback, the price of the Euro went down by 89 paisa to settle at Rs295.53 against the previous day’s closing of Rs296.42, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
However, like the previous day, the Japanese Yen remained unchanged at Rs1.80, while the British Pound witnessed a decline of Rs1.17 to settle at Rs346.01 against the last day closing of Rs347.18.
Like the greenback, the price of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal went up by 04 paisa each to settle at Rs 75.77 and Rs 74.18 respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
The Pakistani Rupee oscillated both ways against the greenback during the last couple of months with recent continued appreciation except for the last two days. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the Pakistani unit observed improvement for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by a continues 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 enjoyed appreciation against the US 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 currency appreciated by over Rs 7 in the interbank during the last five to six 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 some relief for boosting the local currency and the country’s economy. However, the nation must be ready for further increases in prices and inflation in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be conditioned with further taxation.
