KARACHI: Pakistani rupee lost further ground against the US dollar in the inter-bank market for the third straight session on Wednesday with a depreciation of 11 paisas.
According to data released by the State Bank, the rupee lost around 0.04 percent in value against the dollar over the previous session’s closing value. The data showed that the rupee lost Rs0.11 in value, slipping from last session’s close of Rs278.29 to Rs278.40.
Overall, the rupee has improved by Rs9.89 against the greenback during the current fiscal year 2023-24. The local unit improved by Rs1.16 in March, Rs0.39 in February, Rs2.36 in January and Rs3.31 in December, while it shed Rs3.69 against the US dollar in November after gaining Rs6.26 (+2.23 percent) in the month of October.
Meanwhile, the local unit in the open market was quoted at 278.30 for buying and 280.30 for selling, according to data provided by different exchange companies. The rupee surged against the greenback by Re1 in March and February, Rs2 in January and Rs3.50 in December.
In a related development, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan needs to move forward with structural reforms to avoid another bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stressing that a longer, larger program with the lender is required for execution of the agenda.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council think tank on Monday, Aurangzeb, who is currently on a trip to Washington to attend the spring meetings organized by the IMF and World Bank, said Pakistan “doesn’t need too many policy prescriptions.” He further said, “We have known the what and whys, not for years but for decades … it’s time for us to start moving with the execution of those policies.”
Last month, Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the second and final review of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The IMF Executive Board is expected to meet “in late April” where approval would pave the way for Pakistan to receive funds of around $1.1 billion (SDR 828 million) as its final tranche of the SBA. – TLTP