The Pakistani rupee inched up against the US dollar in the interbank market for the sixth consecutive week and appreciated by two paisas. According to details, the rupee opened the week at 277.95 against the greenback in the interbank market and closed at 277.93 on Friday. Overall, the rupee has improved by Rs10.36 against the greenback during the current fiscal year 2023-24. The local unit improved by Rs1.16 in March, Rs0.39 in February, Rs2.36 in January and Rs3.31 in December, while it shed Rs3.69 against the US dollar in November after gaining Rs6.26 (+2.23 percent) in the month of October. The local currency has cumulatively strengthened by 9.5 percent or Rs29.17 over the past six months compared to its all-time low of Rs307.10/$ in the first week of September 2023.
Similarly, the local unit gained traction against the greenback in the open market and closed the week in the range of 278.15 for buying and 280.15 against 278.24 for buying and 280.26 for selling in the preceding week, according to data provided by different exchange companies. The rupee surged against the greenback by Re1 in March and February each, Rs2 in January and Rs3.50 in December. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said its Executive Board meeting is expected to be held in “late April” where approval would pave way for Pakistan to receive funds of around $1.1 billion (SDR 828 million) as its final tranche of the $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) inked last year in June. This was stated by IMF Communication Director Julie Kozack while addressing a media briefing.
On the country’s economic fundamentals, the IMF official said Pakistan’s economic and financial position has improved in the months since the first review was completed. “Growth and confidence are continuing to recover. And we will be releasing in the next weeks, as part of our World Economic Outlook, our latest growth forecasts for Pakistan.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the importance of a new IMF programme for the revival of the economy. The finance minister is leaving for Washington to attend the World Bank and the IMF spring meetings where he would also hold talks on a new programme. Earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Islamabad is expected to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new bailout package by the end of the fiscal year, stressing that the details of the new agreement would come under discussion in the spring meetings. “A new tranche of loan is likely to be received from the IMF in a few days, however, we would need another programme,” he said while addressing a session of the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s (SIFC) apex committee attended by civil-military leadership. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $19 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $8.04 billion as of March 29, data released on Thursday showed. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.38 billion, while net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.34 billion.
