Rupee recovers 1.49 to Rs162 in intraday trading

Appreciation was seen after international oil traded negative on May futures

KARACHI: Pakistani currency recovered further by Rs1.49 to a one-month high of Rs162 against the US dollar in the interbank market during intraday trading on Tuesday.

The sharp recovery in rupee was seen following the international oil price crashed to zero and even to -$37 per barrel on May futures counter.

The rupee recovered some ground against the greenback due to the scheduled "more inflows (of the dollars) and lower outflows," said Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schahzad.

The historic drop in the international oil price will save Pakistan billions of dollars as Islamabad heavily relies on imported oil to meet domestic requirements.

Besides, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has formally approved a new assistance package of $1.38 billion for Pakistan to help support its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Schahzad said.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are also considering extending similar loans to the tune of $1.8 billion in total.

G20 group of countries have deferred Pakistan’s debt repayment worth around $12 billion for one year.

Paris club may also consider rescheduling the debt repayment.

The rupee has recovered by around Rs5 since it hit an all-time low over Rs167 in recent days.

The drop was seen due to massive outflow of dollars by foreign investors from Pakistan.