KARACHI: The rupee decreased marginally during the previous week as it lost Re0.31 or 0.11% against the US dollar. The local unit closed at 278.51, against 278.20 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In recent weeks, the domestic currency has largely been around 277-279 against the dollar as Pakistan moves forward with its plan to win a longer and larger International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme.
In a key development, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to reduce the key policy rate by 150 basis points (bps), taking it to 20.5%, effective from June 11, 2024.
In its statement, the MPC said that while the significant decline in inflation since February was broadly in line with expectations, the May outturn was better than anticipated earlier.
This was the first cut in the key policy rate in four years. The last time the central bank reduced the rate was in June 2020 during the pandemic. Since then, the interest rate has gradually gone from 7% to a record high of 22% where it stayed for almost a year.
The federal government announced its Rs18.9 trillion budget for the financial year 2024-25, with a 3.6% growth target and around 40% more collection through the Federal Board of Revenue. The government sees inflation at 12% in the coming year.
In the open market, the PKR lost 3 paise for buying and 19 paise for selling against USD, closing at 277.61 and 280.25, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR gained 3.66 rupees for buying and 3.78 rupees for selling, closing at 294.07 and 296.87, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR gained 40 paise for buying and 44 paise for selling, closing at 74.84 and 75.55, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR gained 70 paise for buying and 68 paise for selling, closing at 72.79 and 73.49, 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. 278.51
Offer Close Rs. 278.71
Bid Open Rs. 278.20
Offer Open Rs. 278.40
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 277.61
Offer Close Rs. 280.25
Bid Open Rs. 277.55
Offer Open Rs. 280.00
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024