The recovery of the Pakistani rupee (PKR) against the US dollar on Thursday proved to be a temporary respite as the local currency once again slipped against the dollar on Friday.
The PKR depreciated by 0.08 percent or 23 paisas against the USD and closed at Rs. 284.65 today. On Thursday, the PKR appreciated by 1.21 percent to close at 284.42 after gaining Rs. 3.43 during intraday trade. Despite yesterday’s massive gains, the PKR has lost 0.99 paisas against the dollar during the current week.
On Thursday, the rupee recovered after news emerged that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has received assurance from Saudi Arabia that it will provide financing of $2 billion to Pakistan.
The news once again rekindled hopes that a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF may happen soon. However, Saudi financing alone wouldn’t be enough to woo the global lender and the country will need commitments from other friendly countries regarding financial assistance.
Pakistan has been trying since early February to strike a SLA but talks with IMF have proved frustrating with the latter pushing Pakistan to not only ensure that all agreed prior actions are implemented but also the tricky task of securing commitments of external financing before the agreement.
The news that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has canceled his visit to Washington for spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank has also been taken negatively by the currency market.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has to repay $4.5 billion to bilateral and multilateral lenders by the end of June. With reserves at just $4.2 billion, closing the deal with IMF is critical for Pakistan.
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Not correct. Pakistan was never invited. This is IMF share holder’s internal meeting.