Daily Times

The Pakistani rupee gained Rs5 against the US dollar on Monday with experts attributing the local currency’s gains to the stand-by agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week, a private TV channel reported. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan, the rupee had appreciated to Rs285 in the open market as the stock market crossed the 2,000 mark. The interbank rate was not available due to Monday being a bank holiday. Malik Bostan, Chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), expressed optimism about the positive outcomes about the finalisation of the IMF deal. He said that the dollar rate would continue to decline once the interbank market opened on Tuesday.

Bostan further anticipated that the value of the greenback would decrease to Rs275 in days to come. “We anticipate that, following the IMF agreement, Pakistan will also receive financial assistance from other global institutions which will decrease the demand for the dollar,” he added.

ECAP General Secretary Zafar Paracha said that today was a bank holiday, therefore, exchange companies were also closed. “With the signing of the IMF agreement and the anticipation of grants from other countries, there is a prevailing downward sentiment, and it appears that the dollar will depreciate by an additional Rs5 tomorrow,” he predicted. He pointed out that foreign exchange reserves and the IMF grant alone would not be adequate to repay the country’s loans, saying that the government may need to implement additional measures to ensure the rupee’s long-term stability.