ISLAMABAD: After witnessing a slight depreciation last day, the Pakistani rupee bounced back against the US dollar while appreciating by Rs0.16 (0.06%) in the inter-bank market on Wednesday to settle at Rs279.12 as compared to the last day stand of Rs279.28 last day, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In a key development, the global credit rating agency Moody’s said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s credit rating “would possibly be upgraded” if its government’s “liquidity and external vulnerability risks decreased materially and durably.” The agency, however, maintained Pakistan’s credit rating at ‘Caa3’ for long-term issuer rating, with a stable outlook.
Meanwhile, the US dollar mostly remains stable as investors are still the US Core PCE (personal consumption expenditures). Inflation data is to be released on Thursday for further guidance. The Forecasted data for Thursday is 0.4%. Actual greater than forecasted is almost good for the economy.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
The local currency oscillated both ways against the American dollar during the last couple of months with a recent continued appreciation. From September last, till the middle of October 2023, the local unit witnessed appreciation for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by a continued fall for the 17th consecutive sessions from October till the middle of November 2023.
However, at the end of December 2023, and then in January 2024, the Pakistani rupee mostly enjoyed improvement against the greenback, thanks to the inflow from the IMF in the form of Rs700m followed by a $2b rollover from the UAE on January 20. As a result, the local unit improved by over Rs 5 in the interbank during the last four weeks.
