The Pakistani rupee sustained losses against the US dollar, settling with a depreciation of 0.35% during the trading session on Tuesday.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at 284.84, a decrease of Re0.99.
The rupee had also weakened against the US dollar on Monday, settling at 283.85 in the inter-bank market.
In a related development, Moody’s Investor Service warned that Pakistan could default without an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, as the country faces uncertain financing options beyond June, according to Bloomberg on Tuesday.
“We consider that Pakistan will meet its external payments for the remainder of this fiscal year ending in June,” Grace Lim, a sovereign analyst with the ratings company in Singapore, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
“However, Pakistan’s financing options beyond June are highly uncertain. Without an IMF programme, Pakistan could default given its very weak reserves.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said the government has made arrangements for the repayment of $3.7 billion debt due in May and June.
Pakistan is desperately seeking to resume its bailout programme that has been stalled at the ninth review since November last year.
Globally, the US dollar inched higher on Tuesday after a loans survey showed US credit conditions were less gloomy than expected, while the pound flirted with a one-year peak on expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates this week.
A day earlier, the Federal Reserve’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) showed that while credit conditions for US business and households continued tightening at the start of the year, it was likely due to the impact of the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes rather than severe banking sector stress.
Against a basket of currencies, the US dollar index rose 0.03% to 101.47, though remained not far from recent lows as traders eye a peak in US interest rates.
Oil prices, a key indicator of currency parity, fell on Tuesday, relinquishing some of the strong gains of the previous two sessions with the market cautious ahead of US inflation figures, which will be key to the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.
Inter-bank market rates for dollar on Tuesday
BID Rs 284.85
OFFER Rs 287.00
Open-market movement
In the open market, the PKR lost 2 rupees for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 287 and 290, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 1 rupee for both buying and selling, closing at 314 and 317 respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 80 paisa for buying and 95 paisa for selling, closing at 78.50 and 79.25, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 60 paisa for buying and 75 paisa for selling, closing at 76.50 and 77.25, respectively.
Open-market rates for dollar on Tuesday
BID Rs 287
OFFER Rs 290