The Pakistani rupee weakened further against the US dollar in the open market on Thursday, while the local currency also sustained losses in the inter-bank market.

During the day, currency dealers Business Recorder reached out to said the rupee was quoted at 284.5 for selling and 281.5 for buying purposes for customers.

At the end of trading, the local currency closed at the same rates, according to data provided by the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

On Wednesday, the rupee had closed at 283.5 for selling and 280.5 for buying.

In the inter-bank market also, the rupee maintained its downward trajectory and closed at the 283.43 level against the greenback.

The gap between rates in the inter-bank and open markets is required to be less than 1.25% under one of the structural benchmarks set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Meanwhile, authorities in Pakistan and the IMF mission, led by Nathan Porter, begin crucial discussions on the first review of the $3 billion Stand-by-Arrangement (SBA) from today (Thursday) onwards.

An official of Finance Ministry sounded confident about the successful completion of the first review (July-September 2023) under SBA, reported Business Recorder earlier.

However, external financing needs may come under sharp focus during the review, as the budgeted $4.5 billion loans from foreign commercial banks and $1.5 billion through the issuance of Eurobonds for the current fiscal year have yet to materialise.

The IMF review process will be conducted in two phases. Initially, technical talks to be held, which will be followed by policy-level discussions.

The South Asian nation is trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a caretaker government in the wake of an IMF loan programme, approved in July, that helped avert a sovereign debt default.

Under the programme, Pakistan received $1.2 billion from the IMF as the first tranche in July.