ISLAMABAD: Slight depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee continued for the third consecutive session, as on Thursday the local currency down further by 10 paisa against the US dollar in the inter-bank market to close at Rs278.50, against the previous day’s closing of Rs278.40, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Meanwhile, in the open market, the local unit is down by 9 paisa for buying and 2 paisa for selling against the greenback to settle at 277.16 and 279.49, respectively.
Internationally, the American dollar scaled a two-week peak against its major peers on Thursday morning, however eased a bit in the later session, due to bounced back of the US yields.
Unlike the US dollar, the local currency went up by Rs 1.31 against the Euro for buying and Rs1.40 for selling to settle at Rs297.82 and Rs300.66, respectively.
The UAE Dirham went down by 1 paisa for buying and remained unchanged for selling against the local currency to settle at Rs75.25 and Rs75.98, respectively.
The Saudi Riyal is up by 2 paisa for buying and 1 paisa for selling against the local unit to close at Rs73.52 and Rs74.20, respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
During the last 7 to 8 months, the Pakistani Rupee registered both appreciation and depreciation, against the American dollar with recent continued improvement. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local currency appreciated for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by a continuous 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 observed improvement against the greenback amid the inflow from the IMF followed by a $2b rollover each from the UAE (January) and China (February). As a result, the Pakistani rupee improved by over Rs7 in the interbank during the last three to four months.
In another recent development, Pakistan received $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a final tranche of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), on April 30, 2024. Pakistan is now flexing muscles to get a longer program from the IMF to further overcome the economic challenges. However, the expected program might be followed by further inflation and price hikes amid tough conditions from the lending body in the shape of further taxation.
