ISLAMABAD: After a minimal depreciation of 8 paisa last day, the Pakistani Rupee continued the downfall for the 2nd consecutive day as on Thursday the local unit went down by 14 paisa further against the American Dollar in the interbank trading. At close the local currency settled at Rs278.40 as compared to the last day closing at Rs 278.26.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price of the greenback in the open market settled at Rs277.45 and Rs280 respectively.
Like the greenback, the rates for the Euro also went up by Rs.1.46 to settle at Rs 302.70 as compared to Rs 301.24, on the last day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The Japanese Yen, however, decreased by 02 paisa against the local currency to close at Rs 1.80, while the British Pound registered an increase of Rs2.56 to settle at Rs 353.00 against the last day closing of Rs350.44.
The price of the Emirates Dirham and Saudi Riyal went up by 04 paisa each to settle at Rs 75.79 and Rs 74.23 respectively.
Pakistani Rupee Against US Dollar
Recently the local currency witnessed both appreciation and depreciation, against the US dollar with recent continued improvement. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local unit registered appreciation for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the greenback, followed by a continuous decline 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 Pakistani Rupee mostly witnessed 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 two to three months.
Later 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 eyeing to obtain a longer program from the IMF to further overcome the economic quagmire. However the expected program might be followed by inflation and price hikes amid tough conditions from the lending body in the shape of further taxation.
