Pakistani rupee snapped its four-day losing streak against the US dollar and appreciated to 186.70 on Friday. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the rupee opened at 186.97 against the US dollar in the interbank market and closed at 186.70 after gaining 27 paisa (+0.14 percent). Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 186/187.80 per dollar without any change. During the five days of this week, the rupee shed Rs5.15 against the US dollar and slipped to 186.7 from 181.55. Overall, the rupee devalued by Rs29.27 against the US dollar during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 and Rs10.25 during the current year 2022. According to experts, the rupee’s appreciation is primarily attributable to an increase in the foreign exchange reserves as the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country increased by $16.9 million (+0.09 percent) on a week-on-week basis to stand at $17.04 billion. They said that a further increase next week is also possible due to the ongoing month of Ramazan and approaching Eid-ul-Fitr. Moreover, the market experts are hopeful regarding the resumption of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They said that the rupee is under severe pressure due to a set of economic challenges including foreign direct disinvestment, widening fiscal deficit and raging commodity prices. Rising crude oil and commodities prices are further adding to the woes by multiplying the import bill, which is further weighing on the rupee. Higher import payment owing to the 96 percent increase in petroleum products and crude oil imports has put pressure on the domestic unit.