Daily Times

The Pakistani rupee maintained steady against the US dollar today in interbank trade due to the belief that the government will be able to reach an agreement with the IMF after adopting nearly all of its demands.

Data from money dealers show that on Tuesday when the US dollar was selling at Rs275, the Pakistani rupee increased by 30 paisas in interbank trading.

Yesterday, the Pakistani rupee exhibited some spine as it opened the week on a positive note and gained Rs1.28 in its value.

Last week, the Pakistani rupee endured a massive drubbing at the hands of the US dollar. The PKR lost Rs70.45 or 25.59%, while it plummeted by 48.87% against the USD in the last seven sessions.

According to the general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), the rupee appreciation could be attributed to the encashment of the pending proceeds by the exporters into the PKR. He was of the view that rupee health would be improved further as Pakistan was about to sign an agreement with the IMF for the ninth tranche amounting to $1.18 billion.

The IMF mission which is currently visiting Pakistan is beginning policy-level talks today (Tuesday) after concluding extended technical consultations on Monday.

During technical level meetings, the IMF mission director sought immediate action to close the looming fiscal imbalance of 2 to 2.5 trillion rupees.

The lender has imposed various conditions for continuing the bailout, including hiking the power tariff, restoring unrestricted imports, and increasing the petroleum development charge on diesel.