Rupee Reverses Losses Against USD, Australian Dollar

The Pakistani rupee (PKR) reversed losses against the US Dollar and posted gains during intraday trade today. The Pakistani rupee was all green during the early hours of intraday trade today with the interbank rate gaining Rs. 3 to reach 281 by 11 AM. By 11:25 AM, it went as low as 284 before marginally rebounding later. At close, the rupee appreciated by 0.04 percent and suspended movement at 283.92 after gaining 11 paisas against the greenback. The rupee reported gains today after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that Pakistan has made substantial progress for the bailout revival in recent days. The rupee is still down over Rs. 52 since its record-breaking single-day drop of Rs. 25 in the last week of January and has since then played in mostly red due to immense economic pressure. As per exchange rate movements witnessed today, the PKR has gained 11 paisas today, noting a small recovery from Monday’s plunge to 284.03. Money changers say the IMF’s clarity on its staff-level agreement with Pakistan offered little respite to the exchange rate. It bears mentioning that Pakistan needs assurances from bilateral creditors for $6 billion in additional loans or risk stalling the IMF SLA. Except for the external financing requirement, the South Asian nation has completed almost all prior actions posed by the lender. Since negotiations for the 9th review commenced last year, the IMF has leaned on Pakistan’s bilateral creditors to boost available funding given the country’s need for large debt rollovers. Pertinently, the Fund estimates a financing gap of about $7 billion for the current fiscal year, compared to Pakistan’s projection of $5 billion. The PKR was stable against some of the other major currencies in the interbank market today. It gained two paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED), four paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR), and 38 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD). Conversely, it lost 59 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD), Rs. 1.45 against the Pound Sterling (GBP), and Rs. 2.03 against the Euro (EUR) in today’s interbank currency market.