KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee continued to post marginal gains against the US dollar, appreciating 0.03 percent or Re0.09 in the inter-bank market during the previous week.
The local unit closed at 278.92, against 279.01 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Pakistan successfully re-entered the international capital markets after a four-year gap, raising USD500 million through a three-year Eurobond issued under its Global Medium-Term Note (GMTN) programme, said Advisor to Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad.
According to him, the bond was priced at competitive terms, reflecting improving macroeconomic indicators and stabilising financial conditions.
The country recorded a current account surplus of USD1.07 billion in March 2026.
This took 9MFY26 current account to surplus of USD174 million against 8MFY26 deficit of $896 million.
Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies, clocked in at 105.17 in March 2026, up from 103.11 in February 2026. The foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP plunged by USD1.32 billion to USD15.08 billion during the week ended on April 10, 2026. The decline came after the central bank repaid USD1.426.1 billion against Pakistan Sovereign Eurobond.
Pakistan has repaid $2 billion loan to the UAE, confirmed the SBP spokesperson. However, the FX reserves are likely to remain stable with USD2 billion additional inflow from Saudi Arabia, which Pakistan has already received.
Open-market rates
In the open market, the PKR gained 22 paise for buying and lost 2 paise for selling against USD, closing at 279.34 and 280.20, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.72 rupee for buying and 1.94 rupee for selling, closing at 328.44 and 331.72, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 16 paise for buying and 6 paise for selling, closing at 76.04 and 76.97, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 27 paise for buying and 17 paise for selling, closing at 74.25 and 75.13, respectively.
=========================================
Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
=========================================
Bid Close Rs. 278.92
Offer Close Rs. 279.12
Bid Open Rs. 279.01
Offer Open Rs. 279.21
=========================================
Weekly open-market rates for dollar
=========================================
Bid Close Rs. 279.34
Offer Close Rs. 280.20
Bid Open Rs. 279.56
Offer Open Rs. 280.18
=========================================
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026