Rupee regains 0.09% on talk of Saudi assistance

Creeps up to Rs283.66 vs dollar in inter-bank trade

KARACHI:

The stabilising Pakistani rupee ticked up on Thursday, regaining 0.09%, or Rs0.26, and closed at Rs283.66 against the US dollar in inter-bank market.

Market talk suggests the rupee registered the fresh nominal gains on reports that Saudi Arabia had signalled its willingness to give financial commitments to Pakistan. However, the size of the assistance package is not known.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) linked the revival of its $6.5 billion loan programme with the receipt of new financial commitments of $6-7 billion from friendly countries.

In another development, the currency dealers operating in open market offered the government $24 billion in loans over the next two years. For the purpose, they need the government’s permission to borrow from overseas Pakistanis and foreign firms.

A dealer said that the government’s response to the offer was awaited, which would help Pakistan to get rid of the IMF programme and shift focus on to stabilisation and growth of the economy.

Meanwhile, China is considering rolling over a loan of $2 billion for Pakistan.

On the flip side, however, the foreign exchange reserves have dropped by $354 million in a week to the critically low level of $4.24 billion, which is barely enough to finance one month of imports.

The rupee had lost 0.13%, or Rs0.37, to Rs283.92/$ on Wednesday, according to the central bank data. The currency has continued to move in a narrow band of Rs281-284/$ for the past four weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2023.

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