KARACHI: The rupee remained unchanged against the US dollar as it closed at 278.51, the same as it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
It was a shorter week as the SBP remained closed from Monday till Wednesday due to Eid holidays.
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, Pakistan’s current account posted a provisional deficit of $270 million in May 2024 compared to a revised surplus of $499 million in April 2024, revealed data released by the central bank.
Overall, during the eleven months of the ongoing fiscal year FY24, the current account balance stood at a deficit of $464 million, still massively lower than $3.76 billion in the same period of the previous year.
Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies, witnessed a decrease as it clocked in at 100.67 in May 2024, down from the revised 104.44 in April 2024, SBP data showed.
Meanwhile, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $535 million in financing for Pakistan to support two projects, the Crisis Resilient Social Protection (CRISP) programme and Sindh Livestock and Aquaculture Sectors Transformation (LIVAQUA) project.
Foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP increased by $31 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $9.13 billion as of June 14. Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $14.41 billion. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.28 billion.
In the open market, the PKR lost 11 paise for buying and 17 paise for selling against USD, closing at 277.69 and 280.37, respectively.
Against Euro, the PKR lost 1.68 rupee for buying and 1.70 rupee for selling, closing at 294.94 and 297.79, respectively.
Against UAE Dirham, the PKR lost 25 paise for buying and 28 paise for selling, closing at 75.10 and 75.84, respectively.
Against Saudi Riyal, the PKR lost 32 paise for buying and 31 paise for selling, closing at 73.10 and 73.80, 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. 278.51
Offer Open Rs. 278.71
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Weekly open-market rates for dollar
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Bid Close Rs. 277.69
Offer Close Rs. 280.37
Bid Open Rs. 277.58
Offer Open Rs. 280.20
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Copyright Business Recorder, 2024