Rupee rises versus dollar in interbank, open market

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee appreciated against the US dollar by 79 paisas (+0.28 percent) in the interbank market on Wednesday, while it strengthened by Rs6 (+2 percent) in the open market.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the dollar opened at Rs287.97 in the interbank market and closed at Rs287.18. During the current fiscal year 2022-23, Pakistani rupee has lost Rs81.29 against the US dollar in the interbank, while it plummeted by Rs60.75 against the greenback in the current year.
However, the rupee clawed back some ground against the US dollar in the open market for the second straight day. The greenback was quoted in the range of Rs291-294 in the open-market as compared to a range of Rs297-300 a session earlier, showing an improvement of Rs3 (+0.98 percent).
According to President of Forex Association of Pakistan Malik Bostan, the rupee strengthened in the open market after banks released a $5 million pending amount to exchange companies a day earlier. He said that the release of dollars to exchange companies reduced the difference between the interbank and open market rates. He also said that the government’s initiative of the diamond card for overseas Pakistanis would help increase workers’ remittances.
The government announced in the budget that a diamond card will be introduced for individuals sending over $50,000 in remittances. The card offers several benefits, including preferential access to Pakistani embassies and consulates, fast-track immigration at airports, and special prizes through draws.
The overseas workers’ remittances posted a decline of 12.84 percent during the first eleven months of the fiscal year 2022-23 as the remittances fell from $28.489 billion in July-May of FY22 to $24.831 billion in the period under review.
On a year-on-year basis, the overseas workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of $2.102 billion in May 2023, posting a decrease of 10.40 percent as compared with the same month of the previous year’s inflow of $2.346 billion. On a month-on-month basis, the overseas workers’ remittances also decreased by 4.36 percent from $2.198 billion in April 2023 to $2.102 billion in April 2023. – TLTP