ISLAMABAD: After a slight appreciation by two consecutive days last week, the Pakistani Rupee registered a marginal depreciation by 10 paisa on Monday, against the American dollar in the interbank trading to close at Rs 278.30 against the closing of Rs 278.20 on Friday.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the US dollar in the open market, was settled at Rs 277.50 and Rs 280.10 respectively.
Like the greenback, the price of the Euro also went up by 68 paisa to settle at Rs 301.84 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 301.16, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen, however, remained static at Rs 1.77, while the British pound registered an increase of Rs1.04 to settle at Rs 354.38 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 353.34.
Similarly, the price of the Emirates Dirham and the Saudi Riyal went up by 03 paisa each to close at Rs 75.77 and 74.20.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
During the last 7 to 8 months, the Pakistani currency witnessed both appreciation and depreciation, against the US dollar with recent continued improvement. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local currency appreciated for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by a continues fall for 17th consecutive sessions from October till the middle of November 2023.
However at the end of December 2023, and then in January 2024, the local unit mostly enjoyed appreciation against the American dollar amid the inflow from the IMF followed by a $2b rollover each from the UAE (January) and China (February). As a result, the Pakistani rupee improved by over Rs7 in the interbank during the last three to four months.
In another recent development, Pakistan received $1.1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a final tranche of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), on April 30. Pakistan is now flexing muscles to get a longer program from the IMF to further overcome the economic challenges. However, the expected program might be followed by further inflation and price hikes amid tough conditions from the lending body in the shape of further taxation.
