Rupee gains on hopes for fresh financing

KARACHI:

Pakistani currency on Tuesday hit a new five-and-a-half-month high at Rs277.84 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, continuing its winning streak for the 14th consecutive working day on potential unlocking of fresh foreign financing by global financial institutions.

According to State Bank of Pakistan’s data, the rupee enhanced 0.04%, or Rs0.10, against the greenback on a day-on-day basis.

The latest improvement took cumulative gains in the local currency to 10.53%, or Rs29.26, in the past almost seven months compared to the all-time low close at Rs307.10/$ recorded in the first week of September 2023.

Read Rupee stable at 277.94/$

Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan reported that the rupee increased 0.06%, or Rs0.16, on a day-on-day basis, closing at Rs280.04/$ in the open market.

The latest surge in the currency came in the backdrop of a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and World Bank and International Finance Corporation officials about increasing financing for different projects. In addition, the government is working on entering a new IMF loan programme by the end of June 2024.

Foreign investors have also returned to pouring money into rupee-based government debt securities such as T-bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), with their net investment hitting a four-year high at $82 million in March 2024.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2024.

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