By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Continuous depleting forex reserves and the lack of foreign inflows are taking their toll on stability of the Pakistani rupee as the local unit shed another 26 paisa in its value against the US dollar in the interbank trading on Monday.
The currency dealers informed that during today’s morning trading session, the PKR slid 26 notches down, letting the greenback be traded at Rs227.40.
US dollar
On Friday’s last day of trading activity, the exchange rate recorded a dip of 2 paisa to close at Rs227.14 to the US dollar.
Pakistan has facing a serious forex crunch as a foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped by $245 million to $5.57 billion during the end of the week on December 30, 2022.
It is pertinent to mention that the current level of foreign currency reserves is barely enough to cover 1.08 months of import bill.
the total debt of the central government rose to Rs50.9 trillion in November 2022, compared to Rs47.8tr in June 2022, registering an increase of Rs3.2tr and 6.52% in 5MFY23.
The sharp decline in the foreign exchange reserves and a delay in the IMF loan programmed are also causing rupee devaluation.
The IMF spokesperson on Sunday informed that the delegation of the Fund would meet Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister, on the sidelines of the global Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan conference today (Jan 9) to discuss outstanding problems and the path forward.
During her conversation with Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, on Friday, IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva assured that the team would visit Pakistan in days to come for a review of the economy.
If Pakistan gets a much-needed tranche in time, the market would get positive vibes, and it could help lift some of the pressure on the local currency.
