KARACHI: Pakistani rupee witnessed a further decline against the US dollar, seventh in a row, on Monday and depreciated by Rs1.11 (-0.39 percent) in the interbank market.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 286.81 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 287.92. During the last seven sessions, the rupee has weakened against the US dollar by Rs11.46 in the interbank market.
Similarly, the local unit depreciated against the greenback in the open market by Re1 (-0.34 percent). The rupee was quoted in the range of 292-295 against the dollar in the open market as compared to 291-294 a session earlier. In the black market/Hundi, the dollar was quoted at Rs312 against Rs310 a session earlier.
During the current fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistani rupee has shed Rs1.93 against the US dollar in the interbank market, while it plummeted by Rs60.49 against the greenback in the current year.
The fall on Monday was the rupee’s seventh successive close in the negative zone as euphoria over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal faded to make way for fundamentals. The depreciation in the inter-bank market also reduced the gap with rates in the open market, one of the key metrics of how Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF would be judged as the programme moves forward.
Pakistan reported higher foreign exchange reserves during the previous week, but experts believe pressure on the currency will likely stay due to lifting of import restrictions and backlog of inward shipments that would make their way into the country.
In a key development, the United States had said that there is no quick solution to Pakistan’s economic problems but it should continue to work with the IMF to overcome its difficulties.
The SBP reported last week that its foreign exchange reserves rose by $4.203 billion to $8.73 billion during the week ended on July 14, 2023. These have been the highest reserves held by the country since July 29, 2022. Similarly, the country’s total reserves have reached $14.07 billion, including $5.34 billion held by commercial banks.
This boost in reserves was attributed to substantial deposits received during the week, which included a $1.2 billion immediate disbursement received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), $2 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia and an additional $1 billion deposit from United Arab Emirates (UAE). – TLTP