KARACHI: The rupee decreased marginally during the previous week as it lost Re0.21 or 0.07% against the US dollar. The local unit closed at 278.34, against 278.13 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In recent months, the domestic currency has largely been around 277-279 against the dollar as traders have an eye on some strong positive indicators.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not yet included Pakistan on the agenda of its executive board meetings scheduled till July 31.
According to the Fund’s website, the IMF issued the schedule of the executive board meeting set to be held till July 31, but to take Pakistan’s 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement of about $7 billion on the agenda is not included.
The Pakistani authorities and the IMF team reached a staff-level agreement on the EFF on July 12.
In a key development during the previous week, Saudi Arabian ambassador Nawaf Al Maliki met Deputy Prime Minister IshaqDar and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen beneficial ties.
The development comes at a time when Pakistan needs timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from its development and bilateral partners to win the IMF deal. This would include rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and China.
According to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan has initiated talks on reprofiling its power sector debt to China, alongside talks on structural reforms suggested by the IMF.
He said that Pakistan would address the reprofiling of Chinese credit to the power sector on a project-by-project basis and that Islamabad was looking to appoint a local advisor in China for the purpose.
Open-market rates
In the open market, the PKR gained 50 paise for buying and 68 paise for selling against USD, closing at 278.50 and 279.82, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 20 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 300.80 and 303.80, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 10 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 75.65 and 76.40, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 10 paise for both buying and selling, closing at 73.90 and 74.61, 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. 278.34
Offer Close Rs. 278.54
Bid Open Rs. 278.13
Offer Open Rs. 278.33
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 278.50
Offer Close Rs. 279.82
Bid Open Rs. 279.05
Offer Open Rs. 280.50
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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