The US dollar appreciated by 20 paisas in the interbank market on Friday, halting the earlier marginal gain of the rupee at the start of the day, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency went down by 20 paisas and the US dollar was closed at Rs285.82 in the interbank. Earlier, at the start of the trading session today, PKR reaped a meagre gain of 12 paisas, making the USD to trade at Rs285.50. But later, the trend reversed and the greenback notched up by 20 paisas. 

https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1659510949261496321

The local currency sustained losses for the third consecutive session against the US dollar which closed at 285.62 in the inter-bank market on Thursday.

https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1659145292212736002

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves with its central bank decreased by $72 million to $4.312 billion at the end of last week due to external debt repayment.

The total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the country stood at $9.938 billion as of May 12, 2023, compared to $9.99 billion on May 5, 2023, depicting a decline of $53 million.

https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1659429533295194112

Separately, data showed the government borrowed $8.123 billion from multiple financing sources including $900 million from foreign commercial banks during the first 10 months (July-April) of 2022-23 compared to $13.033 billion borrowed during the same period of last fiscal year, a decline of around 37.7%.

Reporter Ashraf Khan