KARACHI: The rupee closed last week with a 0.61% gain against the US dollar, but not before it had plummeted to its all-time low of 211.93 in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
The rupee lost value in four of the five sessions during the previous week, but on Thursday it posted its biggest day-on-day appreciation, in absolute terms, against the US dollar in history. The gain that one day alone was Rs4.7, taking the currency from 211.93 to 207.23.
On Friday, the rupee depreciated marginally to close the week at 207.48.
The improvement on Thursday came on the back of “progress on budget measures” with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as hope of foreign exchange inflow after Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced that the Chinese consortium had agreed to extend the roughly $2.3-billion loan.
Oil prices, an important measure of Pakistan’s import bill, also fell during the week as pressure on the rupee reduced.
Rupee closes with historic gain over US dollar, ends at 207.23
While foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell to $8.24 billion, the coming days will see the inflow from Chinese banks reflected in the official SBP reserves, easing some strain on Pakistan’s external account. Additionally, Pakistan also moved to appease the IMF, imposing a ‘super tax’ on large-scale industries with hope that the new budget measures would pave way for the inflow of the next tranche worth around $900 million.
Open-market rates
In the open market, the PKR gained3 rupees for both buying and selling against USD, closing at 207 and 209, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 4 rupees for both buying and selling, closing at 217 and 219, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 1.30 rupees for buying and 1.20 rupees for selling, closing at 55.80 and 56.30, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 1.10 rupees for buying and one rupee for selling closing, at 54.80 and 55.30, respectively.
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THE RUPEE
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Weekly Interbank market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 207.50
Offer Close Rs. 207.70
Bid Open Rs. 208.90
Offer Open Rs. 209.10
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Weekly Open market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 207.00
Offer Close Rs. 209.00
Bid Open Rs. 210.00
Offer Open Rs. 212.00
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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