KARACHI: Pakistani rupee extended gains against the US dollar in the open and interbank markets on Thursday and appreciated by Rs6 (+1.92 percent) in the former.
According to details, the rupee was quoted in the range of 304-307 against the dollar in the open market as compared to 310-313 a session earlier. The local unit appreciated against the greenback in the open market by Rs13 (3.99 percent) on Wednesday and Rs8 (+2.40 percent) on Tuesday last. Overall, the rupee has appreciated by Rs27 in three sessions.
Similarly, in the black market/Hundi, the dollar fell to Rs315 as compared to Rs323 in the previous session. Overall, the rupee has appreciated by Rs35 in three sessions, as the black market is also experiencing a significant decline in dollar rates.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet that the rupee opened at 306.98 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 304.94, showing an appreciation of Rs2.04 (+0.67 percent). The rupee depreciated against the US dollar in the interbank market by Rs4.47 last week, Rs18.95 during the current fiscal year 2023-24, and Rs77.51 in the current year.
Currency dealers attributed the current row of appreciation of the rupee to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Asim Munir’s meetup with the business community on Sunday last. During the meeting, the army chief discussed the government’s economic plans and intentions to quell smuggling and speculative activity.
Being under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the exchange rate gap between the inter-bank and open markets – called the premium by the IMF in its country report on Pakistan published after the Stand-By Arrangement’s approval by the Executive Board – needs to be around 1.25 percent. At present, the gap between the open market and interbank has fallen to 0.31 percent, which is far below the IMF’s suggested level of 1.25 percent. – TLTP