Daily Times

The rupee rupee appreciated by 23 paisas against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that the rupee opened at 278.64 against the dollar in the interbank market and closed at 278.41, going up by 0.08 percent.

The local unit gained 30 paisas last week against the greenback. Overall, the rupee has improved by Rs9.88 during the current fiscal year 2023-24. The local unit improved by Rs0.39 in February, Rs2.36 in January and Rs3.31 in December, while it shed Rs3.69 against the US dollar in November after gaining Rs6.26 (+2.23 percent) against the greenback in the month of October.

Similarly, the local unit gained traction against the greenback in the open market. The rupee was quoted at 278.25 for buying and 281 for selling against 278.54 for buying and 281.15 for selling a session earlier, according to data provided by different exchange companies. The rupee surged against the greenback by Re1 in February, Rs2 in January and Rs3.50 in December.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the second and final review of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), it was announced by the lender in a statement on Wednesday. “This agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, upon which the remaining access under the SBA, $1.1 billion will become available,” it added.

Pakistan dollar bonds advanced to a two-year high of 92.5 cents on the dollar following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) preliminary approval of the final $1.1 billion tranche. Notes maturing in 2027 and 2051 also edged up. The country has about $1bn in dollar-denominated bonds due in April.

Meanwhile, the country’s foreign currency reserves increased 0.22 percent week-on-week to $7.91 billion, according to the weekly update released by the SBP. The central bank’s foreign currency reserves reached $7,912.9 million in the week ended on March 8, 2024, up $17.2 million compared to the previous week’s tally of $7,895.7 million. Of the total, the foreign currency reserves held by commercial banks rose to $5,238.4 million compared to $5,124.3 million a week ago. Accordingly, the country’s total liquid reserves came in at $13,151.3 million in the week under review, up from $13,020 million in the prior week.