ISLAMABAD: After witnessing a slight depreciation by Rs0.02 last day, the Pakistani Rupee on Tuesday went down further by 04 paisa against the American dollar in the interbank trading to settle at Rs 278.37 against the last day’s closing of Rs 278.33.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market stood at Rs 277.5 and Rs 280.25 respectively.
Like the greenback, the price of the Euro went up by 53 paisa against the local unit to settle at Rs 297.16 as compared to Rs 296.63 on the previous day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen however remained constant at Rs 1.79, whereas the British Pound witnessed a decline of 28 paisa against the local currency to settle at Rs343.98 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 344.26.
Meanwhile, the price of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal increased by 01 paisa each to settle at Rs 75.79 and Rs 74.21.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
The local currency oscillated both ways against the American dollar during the last couple of months with recent continued appreciation except the last few days. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local unit observed appreciation for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, 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 unit mostly enjoyed appreciation 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, 2024. In addition, on 29th February, China also rolled over $2b to Pakistan which was due in March 2024. As a result, the Pakistani unit improved 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 unit and country 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.
In addition, Pakistan’s Finance Minister’s recent engagement in Washington as part of the negotiation for a new multi-billion-dollar programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would further clarify the flow of the Pakistani currency in the near future.
