On Monday, the Pakistani rupee gained another Rs0.70, or 0.35 percent, to reach Rs199.06 per US dollar in the interbank market. This was the second consecutive working day that the currency appreciated.
At one point, it fell to an intra-day low of Rs201 before rebounding against the US currency.
Reversing subsidies on gasoline prices has helped the local currency recover 1.46 percent (or Rs2.95) during the previous two working days.
On May 26, the rupee fell to an all-time low of Rs202.01 compared to Rs185.69 on April 30 – an 8.7 percent depreciation.
The strengthening of the Pakistani rupee is a sign that the IMF loan programme would be revived after the rise in gasoline prices.
Miftah Ismail, the country’s finance minister, expects the IMF programme to resume in June. The IMF will shortly deliver its next $1 billion tranche to Pakistan as a result of the restart of the programme.
With the IMF arrangement, the country’s ability to make international payments would improve, paving the door for loans from other multilateral and bilateral lenders, such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, along with Saudi Arabia.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ [email protected]
