By HUMAIRA
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani rupee continues to strengthen against the US dollar at the start of this week as it increases in value by 87 paisa in interbank trading. The US dollar declined by 87 paisa during the early trading activity on Monday, according to forex dealers, and was trading for Rs238.50 by 11am.
On Friday, the last trading day of the previous week, the US currency slumped and closed at Rs239.37. The dollar which had been pulverizing the Pakistani rupee for the last few weeks gave some breathing space to Pakistani rupee which on Friday gained 57 paisa in the interbank trading. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail during his press conference yesterday, sounded hopeful believing that pressure on the rupee would be dissipated within two weeks and things would become easy. He said rupee value was improving after a reduction in our import bill which was a welcoming sign.
While conceding that dollar had gone out of control post the July 17 by-polls in Punjab, Ismail said he still believed the value of rupee was far greater than where it was currently standing. “Fundamentals are in my favour, but speculation and sentiments also play a role,” he said. The sentiments in market have also improved with the hope that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to start the process for releasing the seventh and eighth tranches of a $6 billion loan programme for Pakistan later this week, as has been reported in a section of press.
Pakistan and the IMF signed the $6bn bailout accord — Extended Fund Facility (EFF) — in 2019. But the release of a $1.7 billion (seventh and eighth) tranche has been on hold since earlier this year, when the IMF expressed concern about Pakistan’s compliance with the deal. Last week, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa telephoned US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to seek Washington’s support for the package.
The rupee lost 4.8% more of its value against the US dollar in the week ended July 29. This increases the rupee’s overall loss since Imran Khan’s administration was toppled on April 7 to 27.2 percent. The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves, which were valued at $11.425 billion at the end of March, gradually decreased to $8.575 billion as of July 22.
