Daily Times

Pakistani rupee weakened against the US dollar by 25 paisas (-0.14 percent) on Monday, losing exactly what it gained in the last session. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the dollar opened at Rs176.24 in the interbank market and closed at Rs176.49. The rupee in the last session on Friday gained 25 paisas against the American currency. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 177.50/178.50 per dollar.

Overall Pakistan rupee shed 17 paisas against the US dollar during the last week, while it has appreciated by 2 paisas during the current year 2022. The local unit has depreciated by Rs19.06 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22.

The experts were of the view that trade and current account deficits due to rising import bill and depletion in the foreign exchange reserves are major threats to the rupee’s stability. The current account deficit ballooned to $9 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year 2021-22 due to a massive surge in imports, which touched $40.50 billion. Likewise, the foreign exchange reserves of the country dropped by $551.7 million (2 percent) on a week-on-week basis to reach $23.35 billion during the week ended January 14, 2022.

In a related development, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank in its meeting held on Monday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 9.75 percent in line with the forward guidance provided in the last monetary policy statement.

The government is taking steps for the revival of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The approval of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 from the parliament will be a key step and if the bill is passed, it will ensure clearance of Pakistan’s sixth review by the IMF’s executive board. The IMF is holding its executive board meeting on January 28 to review the release of $1 billion for Pakistan.

The experts opined that the US dollar may face depreciation in the coming days if all goes well with regards to the IMF programme revival. They said the greenback is overvalued against the local currency. They said that commodity prices in the international market may decline in the coming months, which will cut Pakistan’s import bill and ease off the pressure on the rupee.