The Pakistani rupee ended its 3-day losing streak against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 284 in the interbank market.
At 11:30 PM, it was bullish, jumping to the 282 level against the greenback after gaining ~Rs. 2 during early-day trade.
Later, the interbank rate dropped back to 285 between 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM before anchoring trends for the remainder of the day. Open market rates across multiple currency counters stood in the 283-285 range today.
At close, the PKR appreciated by 0.04 percent to close at 285.52 after gaining 12 paisas against the dollar today.
The rupee closed in the green after declining for three straight days today.
Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 69 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 116 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has gained 12 paisas against the dollar.
In a key development, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates penned multi-billion dollar agreements on investment cooperation in sectors of Energy, Port Operations Projects, Waste Water Treatment, Food Security, Logistics, Minerals, and Banking & Financial Services.
These MoUs are expected to unlock multi-billion dollar investment from the UAE into Pakistan. Meanwhile, a trader said, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. We already have enough debt to deal with. Short-term investment plans for improving economic landscape won’t work without progress at home. The rupee market needs good weights for support against top currencies and working on quality reforms based on concrete growth of forex reserves without raising more debt should be the way to go”.
Another trader said despite state efforts for overall economic growth, the PKR faces a daunting forecast. “Downward adjustments in the coming few months are likely with inflation and maturing debt repayments expected to hurt the market. Expectations on inward remittances pose an uncertain picture altogether”.
Notably, the last time Pakistan engaged in multi-lateral investment projects, the informal market surged above Rs. 320/$.
