On July 14, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement for the release of US$1.17 billion under the combined 7th and 8th reviews of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).Ī statement issued by the Fund said that the agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board. The Economic Forecast Agencys USD/PKR forecast for 2022 showed the pair trading at 229.60 by the end of the year and 267.20 by the end of 2025, subsequently. Ruiz said the 7th and 8th reviews have been completed and the Fund’s Executive Board will meet in the third week of August. On August 02, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that Pakistan has achieved all the set targets for the revival of Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.Įxclusively talking to ARY News, International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) resident representative in Islamabad, Esther Perez Ruiz said Pakistan has achieved all the financial targets set by the fund and the last action was accomplished on July 31 by extending levy on petrol. The rupee got its strength amid an assurance from the IMF for the release of a USD1.17 billion tranche.
The US dollar shed Rs4.38 in the interbank today and traded at Rs214.50. In open market, the dollar declined by Rs2 and traded between Rs212 to Rs213.
US DOLLAR TO PAKISTANI RUPEE FREE
"Exchange companies are not increasing the dollar rates and dollar rate in the free market cannot be reduced until the rate in the interbank market is reduced.The Pakistani rupee on Friday gained Rs 4.38 against the US dollar in interbank trading, while the banks are selling the US dollar at Rs215, forex dealers said. "Importers are opening more Letters of Credit (LC) while exporters' inflows are low due to which demand in the interbank market has increased and supply has decreased," Bostan said in the online meeting with the premier. PM Shehbaz meets currency dealersĪ day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held an online meeting with Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) Chairman Malik Bostan where he was informed that a trade deficit, delay in the tranche loan from the IMF, political instability, and excessive borrowing were reasons for the rupee depreciation. It is worth mentioning that since the PTI-led government was ousted through a vote of no-confidence on April 10, the dollar was valued at Rs182.93, and since then, the rupee had lost Rs12.8 or 7% of its value. It has lost 28.54% (or Rs43.47) to date, compared to the record high of Rs152.27 recorded in May 2021. The rupee has maintained a downward trend for the last 13 months. Convert Pakistani Rupee to US Dollar 500 PKR, 2.3111 USD 1 000 PKR, 4.6222 USD 5 000 PKR, 23.1111 USD 10 000 PKR, 46.2223 USD 100 000 PKR, 462.223 USD. Since the beginning of this fiscal year (July 1, 2021) to date, the rupee has collectively dropped by a massive 24.24% (or Rs38.2) compared to the previous fiscal year’s close at Rs157.54.
Sharing similar views, other currency dealers said that the government’s reluctance to withdraw the subsidies as agreed with the IMF is worsening the situation. Regarding the IMF talks scheduled to begin tomorrow (May 18), the analyst said that if the government announces early polls, the IMF programme will be stalled or if the government decided to maintain the subsidy on petroleum products against the IMF conditions, the currency will slump further.Īgar maintained that even if the currency appreciates in the near run on the back of the decision taken by the coalition government, by the end of the fiscal year 2022-23 the rupee will slowly and gradually crawl back to the current levels because the widening current account deficit is one of the major issues of Pakistan. “If the government decides to remove subsidies on petroleum products, the rupee will bounce back,” he said, adding that the local unit will remain within the range of 180-185.Īgar, however, added that if the government decided to dissolve the assembly and move towards early election, the situation for the already tumbling currency market will deteriorate.
The situation is likely to remain uncertain for the local currency, AA Commodities Director Adnan Agar said while speaking to Geo.tv. A persistent delay in the receipt of the next tranche of $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is mounting pressure on the rupee.