The US dollar started the week with a bang as it crushed the Pakistani both in interbank and open markets on Monday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the greenback which at the start of the day lost its value by 22 paisas but later it soared to Rs288, ended the day at Rs286.56, up by 74 paisas.

The case was no different in the open market where the US dollar touched the magic figure of 305 after recording an increase of five rupees.

https://twitter.com/StateBank_Pak/status/1660627792286089216

On Friday last, the US dollar had closed at Rs285.82 up by 20 paisas against the local currency.

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

According to experts, the dull money market was due to lack of news about Pakistan’s efforts to get revived the IMF loan programme.

In another key development, the State Bank of Pakistan while refuting the claims of a think tank, has confirmed a Rs239 billion net credit to the government but clarified that this was not fresh credit.

In a statement the other day, the bank said the Prime Institute think tank, had relied on the data titled “Credit/Loans Classified by Borrowers”, on the SBP website. However, this data appears to have been misconstrued by the think tank.

Islamabad-based economic think tank — Prime Institute (PI) — had claimed in its latest quarterly report the government had borrowed Rs239 billion from the SBP in January and February of this year.

However, SBP said the data in the said table was calculated on accrual basis which took into account accretion of interest over time and impact of exchange rate fluctuation in case of on-lending of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Allocation, received by the Government of Pakistan as a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Furthermore, gross amount of lending is netted-off against the government deposits with the SBP.

 

Reporter Ashraf Khan