By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistani rupee snapped a three-day losing streak against the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday with an appreciation of 17 paisas.
According to details, the rupee opened at 278.47 against the greenback in the interbank market and closed at 278.30, going up by 0.06 percent. The rupee depreciated by 26 paisas in the previous three sessions, while it shed nine paisas last week. The local unit closed at 278.21, against 278.12 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback.
The rupee has largely been stable around this rate for months with Pakistan eager to sign up for another bailout program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its previous $3-billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) ended. An IMF mission, led by Nathan Porter, began discussions, but details are yet to be finalized. The new IMF program is also being seen as crucial to maintain currency stability.
The government has proposed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase income tax exemption threshold up to Rs1 million for salaried class, according to media reports. There is a proposal to rationalize the tax rates for individuals by removing the salaried/ non-salaried distinction and reducing the number of rate slabs.
Demand for the greenback has picked up in recent days amid a widening of the trade deficit by 22 percent year-on-year in April. On the other hand, the foreign exchange reserves, held by the SBP, have continued to improve, rising past $9 billion.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s current account posted a provisional surplus of $491 million in April 2024 compared to a revised surplus of $434 million in March 2024, revealed data released by the SBP on Friday. Overall, during the ten months of the ongoing fiscal year, the current account balance stood at a deficit of $202 million, massively lower than $3.92 billion in the same period of the previous year.
