ISLAMABAD: Appreciation of the Pakistani Rupee continued for the last couple of days as on Thursday the local unit gained by 01 paise against the American dollar in the interbank trading and closed at Rs278.03 against the previous day’s closing of Rs278.04.
However, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market stood at Rs 278.2 and Rs 280.9, respectively.
The price of the Euro went down by 98 paisa to settle at Rs299.99 as compared to Rs300.97, as per details from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen however remained constant at Rs1.83, whereas the British Pound witnessed a decline of 41 paisa in the exchange rate and settled at Rs350.58 against the previous day’s closing of Rs350.99.
Like the Japanese Yen, the price of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal remained unchanged at Rs 75.71 and Rs 74.13 respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against American Dollar
The local unit swung 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 currency recorded appreciation 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 Pakistani currency mostly enjoyed improvement 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 local currency 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 that is adding another good sign 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.
