KARACHI: The rupee extended gains for another week as it appreciated 0.38% or Rs1.10 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.
It was the fourth consecutive week that the rupee appreciated against the dollar, a momentum aided by the announcement of a staff-level agreement (SLA) between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on first review of the $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).
The IMF executive board will meet on January 11 to consider the final approval to disburse the next $700 million tranche from its current loan programme with Pakistan.
The current IMF programme of $3 billion is scheduled to end in the second week of April 2024, with around $1.8 billion remaining undisbursed. The Fund released $1.2 billion as the first tranche in July.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s total debt (domestic and external) stocks increased by Rs1.641 trillion during the first four months of this fiscal year (FY24), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported.
According to the SBP, the central government’s total domestic and external debt stocks rose by 2.7% during Jul-Oct of this fiscal year. With this increase, cumulatively, the government’s total debt stocks rose to Rs62.482 trillion by the end of October 2023, compared to Rs60.841 trillion by the end of June 2023.
In the open market, the PKR gained 1.25 rupee for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 281.75 and 284.75, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 4.00 rupees for both buying and selling, closing at 304.00 and 307.00, respectively. Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 40 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 77.10 and 77.80, respectively. Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 40 paisa for both buying and selling, closing at 75.10 and 75.80, 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. 283.85
Offer Close Rs. 284.05
Bid Open Rs. 284.95
Offer Open Rs. 285.15
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 281.75
Offer Close Rs. 284.75
Bid Open Rs. 283.00
Offer Open Rs. 286.00
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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