The Pakistani rupee has managed to sustain a sluggish upward trajectory against the US dollar in open market on Wednesday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency edged up by 24 paisas against the greenback during the trading session in the interbank today. The US dollar ended the day at Rs286.98.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for todayhttps://t.co/LEJlcZu8vM#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/9d1BicXjIR
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) June 21, 2023
On Tuesday, the local currency almost remained flat against its American counterpart and registered a marginal gain of 4 paisas, leaving the USD to settle at Rs287.22 towards the end.
https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1671119590200578049
On the other hand, the local unit gained a significant Rs5 appreciation against the US dollar in open market on Tuesday where it was exchanged for Rs290 as compared to Rs295 a day earlier.
Despite this positive development, experts say the local currency is still under pressure due to a lack of inflows and delays in securing a loan program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Moreover, Pakistan experienced a substantial increase of 43% in its import bill for May 2023, amounting to $4.275 billion compared to April 2023’s $3 billion. This surge can be attributed to the government’s decision to lift curbs on opening Letters of Credit (LCs) for import payments.
The government is trying hard to salvage tattered economy amid the delay in the revival of IMF bailout package.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) established to remove obstacles in the way of foreign investment. The meeting was also attended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir among others.
The government acknowledged under its "National Economy Revival Plan", Pakistan's real potential in sectors such as agriculture, livestock, minerals, mining, information technology, energy and agricultural production will be utilized.
The plan will promote the concept of 'one government' and 'collective government' to remove all barriers to investment and business activities.
Earlier, two international credit rating agencies, Fitch and Moody’s warned that Pakistan might not be able to repay foreign loans in June due to fast dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
However, the State Bank of Pakistan on Friday night confirmed receiving $1 billion loan from China, bringing the country’s foreign exchange reserves back to over $4 billion. The government also expects to refinance another commercial loan of $300 million from China in a few days.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has also assured that the 9th review of the IMF program would be completed this month. He said government’s talks with the IMF were not concluded yet. He said almost all IMF conditions have been fulfilled including the foreign exchange market which is working freely.
He further assured that there is no issue with payments till June 30. "We are fully prepared to make timely payments till June 30.”
Reporter Ashraf Khan