The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) was stable against the US Dollar (USD) during intraday trade today.
It was stable at market close and halted movement at Rs. 223.95 against the greenback. The local unit quoted an intraday low of 224.58 against the greenback.
The local unit was all red in the morning against the greenback and opened trade at 224.4 in the open market. By midday, the greenback moved higher against the rupee. After 1 PM, the local unit was still bearish and stayed on the 223-224 level against the top foreign currency before the interbank close.
The rupee halted losses against the US Dollar after four days of consecutive drops today. The Finance Division earlier confirmed receipt of $500 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which supported market sentiments.
The schedule of the ninth review meeting under the Extended Fund Facility loan program between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is yet to be finalized, mainly due to the tough conditions of the Fund, official sources told ProPakistani.
A senior official of the IMF has confirmed that officials of Pakistan and the IMF are working to settle the issues before starting the talks. The official said that the discussion on economic policies for a better target for the rest of the fiscal year with Pakistani authorities is ongoing.
Globally, oil rose on Tuesday, bolstered by hopes that China would relax its COVID-19 controls following rare protests against the country’s zero-COVID strategy in major Chinese cities over the weekend.
At 3:30 PM, Brent crude surged by $2.11 or 2.54 percent to reach $85.30 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reversed yesterday’s losses and jumped by almost $5 to settle at $79 per barrel.
Both benchmarks gained more than $2-5 earlier in the day.
More importantly, the expectation that major oil producers will adjust their production plans at the upcoming meeting also supports oil prices. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, will meet on December 4. In a note issued on Monday, analysts at Eurasia Group suggested that weakened Chinese demand could prompt OPEC+ to cut output.
The PKR was bullish against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It held out against the UAE Dirham (AED), gained three paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), 34 paisas against the Euro (EUR), and 87 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP).
Conversely, it lost 14 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), and 50 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD) in today’s interbank currency market.
