Pakistani rupee broke its nine-week losing streak against the US dollar and gained 1.69 percent (Rs3.13) last week. The rupee recovered from 184.68 to Rs181.55 against the American currency in the interbank market last week. Within the open market, the rupee recovered from 185/186 per dollar to 181/182 a dollar during the week. The rupee continued to rise on the back of improvement in the supply of the greenback as the rise in remittances for Ramzan lent support to the domestic currency. The market remains optimistic that the new government will start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the loan package, which can provide more stability to the currency market. Overall, the rupee devalued by Rs24.12 against the US dollar during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 and Rs5.10 during the current year 2022. The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the last 11 months, as it has lost 19.24 percent (or Rs29.31) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021. According to the currency experts, the rupee is undervalued while the dollar is overvalued due to its demand. Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said recently that the rupee is undervalued. Tarin’s statement was later supported by former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who also said that the rupee can strengthen to 160 a dollar if the economy is steered in the right direction. The currency analysts said that with the formation of the new government, the current political crisis has come to an end and the rupee may recover further in the coming days. They said the rupee appreciated against the greenback after much clarity on the domestic political landscape. Meanwhile, the workers’ remittances received by Pakistan hit an all-time high of $2.8 billion in March, extending support to foreign exchange reserves and rupee against the US dollar. Cumulatively, the remittances have risen to $23 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2021-22, up by 7.1 percent over the same period of previous year. However, the foreign exchange reserves of the country dropped for the ninth straight week by $0.45 billion (2.57 percent) on a week-on-week basis to reach $17.03 billion. The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased to $10,849.6 million, while reserves held by commercial banks increased to $6,178.5 million.