KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee continued to recover on Tuesday as investors and traders cherished the news regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement to increase the size and duration of $6 billion loan programme.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency closed at Rs185.62, gaining Rs0.43 (or 0.23%) against the US dollar in the inter-bank market compared to its last close of Rs186.05 on Monday.
Currency dealers believe that the IMF statement, saying the Fund mission will visit Pakistan in May to resume discussions over policies for completing the seventh review has helped sentiment, as did the news of extending the stalled programme by up to one year and increasing the loan size to $8 billion.
Traders and markets were looking at the IMF as progress with the Fund instils investor confidence in the economy, stabilises Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, and unlocks funding from other international financial institutions.
Besides, IMF programme revival, expected $2.4 billion rollover from China and other foreign inflows would provide much-needed support to the balance of payments and the currency as well.
The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the last 12 months. It has lost 21.90% (or Rs33.35) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021.
With a fresh rise of 0.23%, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated by 17.82% (or Rs28.08) since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021, data released by the central bank revealed.
