Daily Times

October’s best-performing currency continued to gain against the US dollar Tuesday on expectations of a fresh loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local unit gained Rs0.24, or 0.11%, against the greenback in the interbank market, closing at 220.65 compared to Monday’s close of 220.89. Rupee regained ground following a decline in the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) index in September and on expectations of a fresh loan tranche from the Washington-based lender. REER index depreciated to 90.9 in September, compared with 94.4 in the previous month, the State Bank of Pakistan reported on Sunday. The REER index shows the rupee might strengthen further in the coming days. In addition, the expectation that Pakistan would meet its obligations to pay off its foreign debt on schedule contributed to a surge in the price of Pakistani sovereign bonds, which helped buoy sentiments regarding the local unit. Analysts anticipate that the rupee will rise further as soon as World Bank inflows begin coming in as well. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Beijing to hold talks on the rollover of Chinese loans, which now total $26.7 billion and include public and publicly guaranteed debt.