Pakistani rupee appreciated to 185.62 against the US dollar for the second straight day on Tuesday, as the market cherished reports about revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme. The State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement that the rupee opened at 186.05 against the US dollar in the interbank market and closed at 185.62 after gaining 43 paisa (+0.23 percent). Within the open market, the rupee was traded at 185/186.5 per dollar without any change. The rupee has gained Rs1.13 against the dollar during the last two days. During the last week, the rupee shed Rs5.20 against the US dollar and slipped to 186.75 from 181.55. Overall, the rupee devalued by Rs28.19 against the US dollar during the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 and Rs9.17 during the current year 2022. Currency dealers believe that the IMF statement, saying the Fund mission will visit Pakistan in May to resume discussions over policies for completing the seventh review has helped sentiment, as did the news of extending the stalled programme by up to one year and increasing the loan size to $8 billion from $6 billion. Traders and markets were looking at the IMF as progress with the Fund instils investor confidence in the economy, stabilises Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, and unlocks funding from other international financial institutions. Besides, IMF programme revival, expected $2.4 billion rollover from China and other foreign inflows would provide much-needed support to the balance of payments and the currency as well. According to experts, the rupee’s appreciation is also 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.