KARACHI: The rupee registered a marginal increase for the second consecutive week as it gained Re0.09 or 0.03% against the US dollar.
The local unit closed at 278.12, against 278.21 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback.
In a key development during the previous week, the inflow of workers’ remittances increased by 27.9% on year-on-year basis to $2.8 billion during April 2024.
Cumulatively, with an inflow of $23.8 billion, workers’ remittances increased by 3.5% during the first 10 months of FY24 compared to the same period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.
In another positive indicator, helped by the last tranche of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Stand-By Arrangement for Pakistan, foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP significantly increased by $1.114 billion on a weekly basis, clocking in at $9.12 billion as of May 3.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.46 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.34 billion. This brings the SBP-held reserves to a nearly two-year high, as the dollar stockpile was last recorded above $9 billion back on July 15, 2022.
Moreover, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said there were no “strategic state-owned enterprises” as he stressed the need for privatisation.
“You have to move towards privatisation if you want economic stability in the country,” the finance czar said during a panel discussion at the Pre-Budget Conference 2024-25 held in collaboration with Business Recorder and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry in Lahore.
In a statement, IMF’s resident representative for Pakistan, Esther Perez Ruiz said an IMF mission will meet Pakistani authorities this week to discuss the “next phase of engagement”.
In the open market, the PKR lost 7 paise for buying and 5 paise for selling against USD, closing at 276.64 and 279.25, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.15 rupee for buying and 1.30 rupee for selling, closing at 296.33 and 299.20, respectively. Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 11 paise for buying and 13 paise for selling, closing at 75.10 and 75.80, respectively. Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 12 paise for buying and 16 paise for selling, closing at 73.40 and 74.07, 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. 278.12
Offer Close Rs. 278.32
Bid Open Rs. 278.21
Offer Open Rs. 278.41
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 276.64
Offer Close Rs. 279.25
Bid Open Rs. 276.82
Offer Open Rs. 279.48
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024