KARACHI: The rupee managed to post another positive week as it appreciated 0.16% or Re0.46 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.
It was the eighth consecutive week that the local unit advanced against the greenback, a momentum aided by the announcement of a staff-level agreement (SLA) between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review of the $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).
The rupee closed the year 2023 with a depreciation of 19.7% as it had started the year at 226.43 against the greenback in the inter-bank market. Economic uncertainty on the back of political noise, delay in deal with the IMF, and lack of foreign inflows kept the local currency under pressure for most part of the year.
However, the announcement of the SLA between Pakistan on the IMF on November 15 has helped the rupee gain ground against the dollar. In a key development during the previous week, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed that foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank increased by $464 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $8.2 billion as of December 29.
The SBP reserves recorded a notable increase of $1.3 billion during the two-week period supported by the arrival of the official govt inflows from international financial institutions. Sources said these inflows were received from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other financial institutions. Analysts said due to multilateral dollar inflows after IMF staff approval, Pakistan’s forex reserves reached a 23-week high.
This rise in the forex reserves may help the rupee post more gains against the dollar. In the open market, the PKR gained 29.00 paisa for buying and 36.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 279.94 and 282.36, respectively. Against Euro, the PKR gained 1.38 rupee for buying and 1.44 rupee for selling, closing at 305.69 and 308.65, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 47.00 paisa for buying and 43.00 paisa for selling, closing at 76.35 and 77.05, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 29.00 paisa for buying and 28.00 paisa for selling, closing at 74.62 and 75.29, respectively.
=========================================
THE RUPEE
=========================================
Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
=========================================
Bid Close Rs. 281.40
Offer Close Rs. 281.60
Bid Open Rs. 281.86
Offer Open Rs. 282.06
=========================================
Weekly open-market rates for dollar
=========================================
Bid Close Rs. 279.94
Offer Close Rs. 282.36
Bid Open Rs. 280.23
Offer Open Rs. 282.72
=========================================
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.