KARACHI: The rupee increased marginally for the third consecutive week as it gained Re0.30 or 0.10% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.
The local unit closed the week at 278.74 level, compared to 279.04 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback.
In a key development during the previous week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan kick-started talks on second and last review of Pakistan’s ongoing $3 billion bailout programme, the finance ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said the IMF and Islamabad discussed the country’s overall macro-economic indicators, efforts on fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, energy sector viability and state-owned entity governance.
“Once staff level agreement is reached, the final tranche of $1.1 billion will be disbursed, following the approval of Executive Board of IMF,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.
He also stated that Pakistan is eager to negotiate a larger and longer Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the IMF programme to achieve macroeconomic stability in the country.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $17 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $7.91 billion as of March 8, SBP data showed. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $13.15 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.24 billion.
It may be noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reportedly directed the Ministry of Finance to immediately explore the possibility of Panda Bonds to shore up depleting foreign exchange reserves.
In the open market, the PKR gained 40.00 paisa for buying and 43.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 278.66 and 281.25, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 2.30 rupees for buying and 2.17 rupees for selling, closing at 301.65 and 304.58, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 14.00 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 75.73 and 76.44, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 11.00 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 73.98 and 74.67, respectively.
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THE RUPEE
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Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 278.74
Offer Close Rs. 278.94
Bid Open Rs. 279.04
Offer Open Rs. 279.24
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 278.66
Offer Close Rs. 281.25
Bid Open Rs. 279.10
Offer Open Rs. 281.70
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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