ISLAMABAD: The slight appreciation of the Pakistani Rupee continued for the last couple of days as on Monday the local unit gained 01 paisa further against the American dollar in the interbank trading to settle at Rs278.12 as compared to Rs278.13 on Friday.
Meanwhile, according to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling price rates of the US dollar in the open market were traded at the level of Rs 278.25 and Rs 281, respectively.
Like the greenback, the rates for the Euro against the local unit also went down by 19 paisa to settle at Rs300.84 as compared to Rs301.03, on the previous day, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
However, the Japanese Yen remained constant at Rs1.83, while the British Pound recorded a decrease of 06 paisa against the local currency and settled at Rs350.59 against the previous day’s stand of Rs350.65.
The Price of the Emirates Dirham remained unchanged at Rs75.73 while that of the Saudi Riyal went down by 01 paisa to close at Rs74.15.
Pakistani Rupee Against American Dollar
The local unit oscillated both ways against the US dollar during the last couple of months with a recent continued upward trend. From September, till the middle of October 2023, the local currency recorded appreciation for a record 28 consecutive sessions against the US dollar, followed by a continued 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 Pakistani currency mostly enjoyed appreciation against the greenback, thanks to the inflow from the IMF (International Monetary Fund)
in the form of Rs700m followed by a $2b rollover from the UAE on January 20. In addition, on 29th February, China also rolled over $2b to Pakistan which was due in March 2024. As a result, the local unit went up by over Rs 5 in the interbank during the last four to five weeks.
In another major development On 20th March (Wednesday) Pakistan and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement over the final review of the $3 billion Standby-By Agreement that is adding another good sign for boosting the local currency and the country’s economy. However, the nation must be ready for further price hikes in the country as the new IMF agreement is likely to be conditioned with more taxes.
