Dollar loses about Rs10
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani rupee made its first major recovery of around Rs10 to reach a one-week high of Rs228.50 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
The domestic currency had closed at Rs238.38 against the greenback on Tuesday.
Earlier, the rupee had hit an all-time low of Rs239.94 last Thursday (July 28), after depreciating by 13.75% (or Rs31.31) during the prior 10 working days.
The rupee recovered after Pakistan reported that its trade deficit had reduced by almost half to $2.64 billion in July compared to $4.96 billion in June.
The significant reduction in the trade deficit was achieved on the back of a cut in imports, resulting in less demand for the greenback in the local market.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also announced that Pakistan has met all prerequisite conditions for the revival of its loan programme.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had stated that the IMF executive board is scheduled to meet on August 24, and it would consider giving final approval for the resumption of the programme.
The approval would be followed by receipt of the next loan tranche of $1.2 billion.
The much-awaited revival would help boost forex reserves, as the programme would also unlock inflows from other multilateral and bilateral creditors.
