The Pakistani rupee posted gains 4th day in a row against the US Dollar today after opening trade at 280 in the interbank market.
It was largely stable against the greenback during intraday trade and hardly parried any movement throughout the session after briefly touching 278 at 11:55 AM.
The interbank rate later dropped back to 279 before closing at the same level for the remainder of the day. Open market rates across multiple currency counters were stable in the 278-280 range today.
At close, the PKR appreciated by 0.02 percent to close at 279.80 after gaining four paisas against the dollar today.
The rupee closed in the green 4th day in a row today. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, it has so far appreciated by 2.19 percent.
Overall, the rupee is down nearly Rs. 61 since January 2023. Since April 2022, it is down over Rs. 108 against the greenback. As per exchange rate movements seen today, the PKR has gained four paisas against the dollar.
In a key development, the International Monetary Fund has informed Pakistan that political tensions ahead of the upcoming elections may weigh on policy decisions and reform implementation.
Meanwhile, the caretaker government has informed the IMF that the policy rate was raised to 22 percent, and it stands ready to respond resolutely if near-term price pressures re-emerge, including due to stronger-than-expected second-round effects on core inflation, or if pressures on the exchange rate re-emerge amid the normalization in the current account.
Amid signs of weaker demand, favorable supply developments, and receding pressures from the exchange rate, the government expects inflation to notably decline over the coming months, and thus, Pakistan maintained the policy rate at 22 percent at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
The PKR was red against most of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained one paisa against the UAE Dirham (AED) and one paisa against the Saudi Riyal (SAR).
Meanwhile, it lost 16 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD), 37 paisas against the Euro (EUR), 39 paisas against the British Pound (GBP), and 76 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD) in today’s interbank currency market.