Pakistani currency on Monday depreciated Rs0.09 and closed at Rs278.30 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast further devaluation of the local currency over the next 13 months.
The IMF expects the rupee to depreciate 18% to Rs329/$ by the end of June next year.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) data, the rupee had closed at Rs278.21 against the greenback on Friday.
So far, the currency has cumulatively depreciated 0.46%, or Rs1.27, in the last eight weeks compared to the five-and-a-half-month high close at Rs277.03/$ reached in the last week of March 2024.
The currency faced renewed pressure following a 22% year-on-year surge in April trade deficit with some increase in imports, indicating that demand for the greenback was gradually going up.
Growing calls for a reduction in the central bank’s benchmark policy rate in early June also signaled that the demand for US dollars would rise in the coming months. It may keep the rupee under pressure.
Gold up
Gold hit on Monday a new one-month high at Rs250,400 per tola (11.66 grams) following the uptrend in global markets.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2024.
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