In the interbank market, the Pakistani rupee extended its appreciation against the US Dollar for the 9th consecutive day, opening at 283. By 11:30 PM, it surged by almost Rs. 1 in intraday trade.
Throughout the day, interbank rates remained steady within the 283-285 range. At the close, the PKR strengthened by 0.09%, settling at 283.87, marking a gain of 25 paisas against the dollar.
Notably, this marks the rupee’s 9th consecutive day of positive performance. Year-to-date, it has faced a 20.23% depreciation, while on a fiscal year-to-date basis, it has appreciated by 0.75%.
Overall, since January 2023, the rupee has witnessed a decrease of nearly Rs. 66, and since April 2022, a decline of over Rs. 113 against the US dollar.
A crucial development awaits as the International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board is set to convene on January 11 to deliberate on the staff-level agreement for the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
The agreement, reached in November, could grant Pakistan access to SDR 528 million (approximately $700 million), bringing the total disbursements under the program to almost $1.9 billion.
On another front, recent data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) indicates a $237 million decrease in reserves within a week, primarily due to debt repayments.
The country’s overall liquid foreign currency reserves, encompassing net reserves held by banks aside from the SBP, stood at $12.107 billion, reflecting a $286 million decline from the previous week. Net reserves held by banks amounted to $5.087 billion, indicating a week-on-week decrease of $49 million.