Daily Times

Pakistani rupee snapped a four-month winning streak against the US dollar in the interbank market and edged lower by 0.13 percent in April.

According to details, the rupee opened the month of April at 277.95 against the greenback in the interbank market and closed at 278.31, depreciating by Rs0.36 month-on- month.

Earlier, the local unit improved by Rs1.16 in March, 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) in the month of October. Overall, the rupee has improved by Rs7.68 against the greenback during the current fiscal year 2023-24. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board approved the final tranche of $1.1 billion of Pakistan’s $3 billion standby arrangement on Monday. The approval came a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed a new loan program with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

The IMF appreciated Pakistan’s policy and fiscal measures to achieve the targets under the standby arrangement. “Macroeconomic conditions have improved over the course of the program,” it said in a statement, adding that 2% growth was expected in the current fiscal year ending on June 30, given continued recovery in the second half. It said the fiscal position continued to strengthen with a primary surplus of 1.8 percent of GDP achieved in the first half of the fiscal year, on track to achieve primary surplus of 0.4% of GDP.