KARACHI: The rupee registered a marginal decline against the US dollar as it closed the week lower by Re0.37 or 0.13%.
The local unit ended at 278.31, against 277.94 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback.
In a key development, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) Middle East and Central Asia director said that the Fund was ready to support Pakistan and the package of reforms had become more important than the size of the new programme.
“I think what is important at this stage is to accelerate the reforms, double down on the structure of reforms in order to provide Pakistan with its full potential of growth,” Jihad Azour told a press conference on the sidelines of the IMF 2024 Spring Meetings. IMF has projected Pakistan’s GDP growth rate at 2% for the current fiscal year compared to -0.2% in the fiscal year 2023. It also projected a decline in inflation, i.e., from 29.2% to 24.8%, and unemployment from 8.5% to 8%. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, said that Pakistan wanted to tap into the Chinese bond market and launch Panda bonds during FY 2025-26.
As per the statement released by the Ministry of Finance, the remarks from the finance minister, who was on a trip to Washington to attend the spring meetings organised by the IMF and World Bank, came during a meeting with Chinese Finance Minister, Lan Fo’an, in Washington DC.
In the open market, the PKR lost 29.00 paisa for buying and lost 31.00 paisa for selling against USD, closing at 277.11 and 279.68, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 6.10 rupees for buying and 5.87 rupees for selling, closing at 292.74 and 295.60, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 4.00 paisa for buying and 6.00 paisa for selling, closing at 75.11 and 75.81, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 8.00 paisa for buying and 6.00 paisa for selling, closing at 73.21 and 73.89, respectively.
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THE RUPEE
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Weekly inter-bank market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 278.31
Offer Close Rs. 278.51
Bid Open Rs. 277.94
Offer Open Rs. 278.14
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 277.11
Offer Close Rs. 279.68
Bid Open Rs. 276.82
Offer Open Rs. 279.37
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024