Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar for the first time during the current week by 21 paisa (+0.12 percent). The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement on Friday that the dollar opened at Rs176.98 in the interbank market and closed at Rs176.77. The rupee witnessed a trading range of 23 paisa during the session, showing the intraday high bid of 176.80 and low offer of 176.75. Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 178/179 per dollar. Overall Pakistan rupee shed 53 paisa against the US dollar during the last four days, while it has depreciated by 26 paisa during the current year 2022. The local unit has depreciated by Rs19.34 during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22. The main reason behind the recovery of rupee against the dollar was passage of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 from the Senate during the day. The bill passage was one of the conditions for the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme for the $6 billion extended fund facility (EFF). The IMF will discuss Pakistan’s case on February 2. On the other hand, the US dollar has been climbing against its peers in the international markets following the Federal Reserve said that it will soon be appropriate to raise its benchmark interest rate amid surging inflation. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, has increased up to 96.4080. The currency experts said that approval of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 from the Senate will ensure clearance of Pakistan’s sixth review by the IMF’s executive board. Earlier this week, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank in its meeting decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 9.75 percent till March in line with the forward guidance provided in the last monetary policy statement.